Dubai Future Foundation collaborates with Johann Rupert’s Richemont to create new luxury retail solutions

The Dubai Future Foundation, a non-profit organization established to collectively imagine, inspire, and design Dubai’s future, has formed a partnership with Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods holding company led by South African billionaire Johann Rupert.

The agreement, which aligns with efforts to encourage tech companies to participate in a special challenge, will assist startups in the luxury retail sector to deploy the latest technologies and innovations, resulting in the development of quality and innovative experiences for luxury brand customers.

The collaboration, which marks the start of a new challenge aimed at redesigning the luxury customer experience, will give global entrepreneurs and startups the opportunity to showcase their ideas and innovative solutions that will advance the retail sector through the launch of new tech-enabled solutions in Dubai.

In a statement about the strategic partnership with Richemont, Abdulaziz Al Jaziri, deputy CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, said: “The Future of Luxury Retail challenge is part of Dubai Future Foundation’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with the private sector at the local, regional, and global levels.”

He went on to say that the innovative solutions developed in collaboration with Richemont will help advance the retail sector’s growth and cement Dubai’s position as a global hub for incubating, testing, and developing innovations.

On the other hand, the new challenge, which aims to redesign the luxury customer experience, will assist Richemont in utilizing modern technologies to analyze data, study customer behavior, and engagement, and improve communication through traditional digital channels by utilizing innovative methods.

The recent agreement with the Dubai Future Foundation comes nearly four weeks after Richemont suspended commercial operations in Russia and Ukraine due to President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine.

Richemont’s shares have dropped by more than 19 percent since the year began, while Rupert’s net worth has dropped by $838 million.