“Oman Luxury Summit,” Nov. 25-27, 2025,
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Luxury as a cultural experience and brand building
Miss Tweed organized its first ever Oman Luxury Summit, at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Muscat, from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27, 2025. Industry specialists discussed “luxury as a cultural experience” and “brand building.” Luxury has become much more about living memorable experiences than owning things. How do luxury brands live up to that promise? How to create emotions?
Brand building is a complex and subtle process. It’s about defining a brand’s narrative and universe and making sure its communication, marketing and imagery are in harmony with the products, the service and the experience it proposes at every touch point, online and offline.
To discuss these topics, we brought together an impressive panel of industry executives: Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Chairman of Amouage and the Omani Sabco group, Marco Parsiegla, CEO of Amouage, Riccardo Bellini, CEO of Valentino, Samantha Etienne, Global Managing Partner of Bold, the corporate venture fund of L’Oréal group, (Samantha Etienne sits on the board of Amouage), Bernd Beetz, chairman of German department store chain Galeria, former CEO of Coty, majority shareholder of Berlin-based eyewear manufacturer Mykita (in which LVMH has a stake,) and co-founder of Scent Beauty New York-based perfume maker, Nina Müller, CEO of historic crystal and perfume brand Lalique, Manuel Emch, CEO of Louis Erard watch brand, industry veteran, Florent Perrichon, former interim CEO of Laurent Ferrier watch brand, business angel, Beauty industry veteran Joël Palix advises leading investors about beauty M&A opportunities. Joël Palix was the CEO of Clarins Fragrance Group and founded online beauty business Feelunique, which he sold to Sephora in 2021, Rémi Le Druillenec, CEO and cofounder of Heroine, an agency that creates audacious store concepts and experiences for luxury brands including Dior and Amouage, Alexis Amann, Chief Data Officer at Luxurynsight, Sylvie Freund-Pickavance, Group Strategy and Business Development Director at The Bicester Collection, Gerd von Podewils, CMO of ADA Cosmetics, the market leader in hotel and airline amenities and Antony Doucet, Chief Experience Officer of the Kerten Hospitality portfolio, which includes Dar Tantora hotel in the Old City in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
This series of conferences benefited from the support of Amouage and the Sultanate of Oman.
What better place to talk about luxury as a cultural experience than in the Sultanate of Oman where culture, luxury and history meet to give visitors an unforgettable experience. Oman is home to white sand beaches and turquoise freshwater streams flowing through majestic valleys. It is also known for its famous frankincense trees and the rare Damask rose, considered the queen of roses for its very distinct scent, used in high perfumery.
Conferences took take place in the afternoon, starting at 15:30 until 19:30. This allowed participants to enjoy Muscat and its vibrant surroundings. On the first day, they could choose from a list of activities. These included a trip to Wadi Shab canyon, a boat tour to Daymanyat islands where they could swim with turtles and multicolored fish, and a tour of Muscat. On the second day, guests took part in a tour to Amouage’s flagship boutiques, guided by Amouage CEO Marco Parsiegla and the brand’s head of communications Andras Komar.
Diner at the seafood restaurant of the Chedi Hotel right on the beach.
Oman is also the birthplace of Amouage, the biggest perfume success story on the Arabian Peninsula backed by the Sultanate of Oman. Amouage was founded in 1983 by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, who reigned for half a century and turned Oman into the Switzerland of the Middle East. Amouage was first meant to be a gift for dignitaries visiting the country. At first, the perfume was not a commercial project. The New York Times called it “the most expensive perfume in the world,” because you could not buy it – you could only receive it as a gift from the Sultan himself. It started being sold to the public only a few years later.
Some of the best quotes from the conferences:
Welcoming remarks by Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi
“This year's theme, luxury, culture, experience, could not have found a more fitting home than Oman. Here, history, heritage, and identity are not elements preserved as distant memories. They are living elements related to how people live, connect, and express themselves.”
Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi is Chairman of Amouage and SABCO Group. Under his leadership, SABCO Group has established itself as a pioneer across luxury fragrance, media, real estate, manufacturing, sports, events, and exhibitions. A prominent figure in Oman’s cultural landscape, he is also an accomplished composer with recognized contributions to the regional arts. He previously served as President of the Oman Football Association, where he played a significant role developing football in the Sultanate.
Marco Parsiegla on Amouage’s strategy:
“Amouage is about celebrating culture. My job is not only to run this company, it's also about building Amouage into Oman’s best ambassador.”
“Bringing all the production into Oman was very important to unleash the brand’s full creative potential. The core DNA of our fragrances consists of frankincense, rock rose, and ambergris. We want to give clients the best value. And that comes with a high concentration of fragrance oil in all our products.”
Marco Parsiegla has been Chief Executive Officer of Amouage for six years. Previously, Marco led the global prestige division at Procter & Gamble as Vice President, managing 12 brands including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen. He was also Executive Vice President for luxury and consumer goods at communications group Havas. Marco sits on the board of Kampos, an Italian-born luxury sustainable luxury swimwear brand.
Samantha Etienne on BOLD:
“Today, our mission is to support the strategic roadmap of the group and to seize what's next in beauty. We invest in emerging beauty brands, as well as in technology, biotech and innovative solutions for the future. We typically make minority investments, and our stake never exceeds 20 percent.”
“We are highly focused on value creation and on ensuring that our investment create real value for the group. We have defined three KPIs: strategic value, innovation value, and economic value. We aim to exit our investments after five years, like most venture capital funds.”
Samantha Etienne is Managing Director of L’Oréal’s BOLD corporate venture fund, which invests in a wide array of start-ups, from niche perfume brands and beauty tech companies to firms selling longevity supplements. Previously, Samantha was General Manager of the Sephora brand and served on the executive committee of the Sephora beauty retailer, part of the French luxury group LVMH.
Joël Palix on M&A trends in beauty:
“A lot of wealthy families and sovereign funds in the Middle East are investing in beauty. There are also lots of wealthy entrepreneurs emigrating to Dubai and wanting to finance Middle Eastern brands. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the emergence of a strong Middle Eastern beauty group in the next 10 years thanks to the support of sovereign money and private investors.”
“It's easier to raise money for beauty deals than for fashion deals. Investors think it is less risky because of the market’s resilience and also because there are beauty groups ready to pay high multiples for the best assets. However, this category is also extremely competitive.”
“The objective of L'Oréal is to turn Gucci into a billion-dollar brand, just like they have done with Yves Saint Laurent and Armani. And that will mean hefty royalties for Kering.”
Beauty industry veteran Joël Palix is a leading M&A adviser to consumer funds and beauty brand founders. Joël was CEO of Clarins Fragrance Group (which then included Mugler and Azzaro perfume brands, later sold to L’Oréal). He scaled up the online beauty business Feelunique, which was sold to Sephora in 2021. He also served as Managing Director for Europe, France and Spain of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, now part of L’Oréal. Today, he sits on the board of several brands, including Les Secrets de Loly, a fast-growing French haircare company; Give Back Beauty, a leading Italian beauty group; and Byome Labs, a microbiome diagnostics company.
Chafik Gasmi, Gerd von Podewils and Antony Doucet on hospitality and retail.
Chafik Gasmi:
“The future of luxury lies in the fusion between retail and hospitality. Hospitality allows a brand to create bonds and emotions through a real, 24/7, immersive and shared experience. A hotel is a journey that must be consistent in all its aspects. It should tell a single story, embodied in seamless retail efficiency.”
Chafik Gasmi is an architect, designer and scenographer whose work unites luxury and ecological responsibility. Since founding his studio in 2004, he has created hotels, private residences, boutiques, furniture and lighting with a poetic language where purity, sensuality and the art of light play a central role. Chafik designed Sephora’s flagship on the Champs-Élysées and the Baccarat Hotel concept, some of Lancôme’s retail concepts and objects, including Idôle, elected Best Women’s Fragrance Bottle of the Year in 2020. His current projects include an ecological tower in Dubai; a private village-hotel in Méribel, France; and 30,000 square feet of exceptional interior design for the Central Bank of Qatar in Doha.
Gerd Von Podewills:
“Many hotels underestimate the impact of beauty amenities on guest loyalty. They are among the top ten criteria for returning to a hotel. The sensorial bathroom experience can create unforgettable moments that last long after checkout.”
Gerd von Podewils is Chief Marketing Officer of ADA Cosmetics International, a leading provider of luxury hotel amenities. With more than 30 years of experience in the FMCG, fashion and beauty industries, he has held senior global roles at Hugo Boss, where he shaped the German brand’s international marketing and digital transformation, and at Procter & Gamble, leading global fragrance portfolios including Hugo Boss and Gucci Parfums.
Antony Doucet:
“Emotions are the new currency. Hotels think anymore on revenue per square meter but how many emotions they create per square meter.”
“Ultra-luxury travel is evolving into ultra-purpose. When people return from a holiday, they want to be transformed. They seek journeys with meaning - experiences that leave a positive imprint and create a lasting impact on local communities.”
Antony Doucet is a seasoned hotelier with a passion for creating memorable guest experiences. He has contributed to the development of all of the brands managed by the Kerten hospitality group since its foundation in 2015. Today, Kerten runs 11 properties and has some 40 in the pipeline in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Italy, Georgia and, soon, France and Morocco. Kerten properties include the Cloud 7 Hotel Roma, close to the Trevi Fountain, and the Dar Tantora hotel, a maze of candle lit houses made of mud bricks in the old town of AlUla, in Saudi Arabia. Antony contributed to the opening of Park Hyatt Paris in 2002 and Park Hyatt Istanbul in 2008. He was also editor of the Istanbul Louis Vuitton City Guide.
Alexis Amann on the evolution of prices in the luxury industry:
“We are seeing a push towards more and more expensive perfumes. If we look at all the major fashion brands, now, in addition to their historical more mass ranges, they have a high perfumery selection with a minimum entry price of more than $300 for the Eau de Parfum. And for Bottega, it goes up to $450.”
“There has been really a fragrance boom over the last five years. The market globally increased 8%, which was twice as fast as the rest of the beauty industry, around 4%. In the coming five years, projections for growth are between 4% and 6%. It’s slowing down, but still, fragrance will be driving the beauty industry.”
“Every brand is looking to see how Louis Vuitton’s ultra luxury makeup line will fare. And if it's successful, we might see other brands trying to launch new high luxury makeup lines, and it will continue to drive the prices up.”
Alexis Amann is Chief Data Officer at Luxurynsight, the leading data partner for luxury, fashion and beauty brands. With a background in strategy and analytics at large corporations like AXA and KPMG, Alexis is an expert at translating complex data into strategic advantages. He leads a team of 16 data experts who put together high-impact expertise in two critical areas for luxury and beauty brands: data-driven pricing and retail network optimization.
Bernd Beetz, Sylvie Freund-Pickavance and Remi Le Druillenec on customer experience:
Bernd Beetz:
“Galeria is the biggest department store chain in Germany, and the second biggest in Europe. We have 83 megastores in city centers across Germany. Most Germans grew up going to these stores. We are working hard to change the corporate culture of Galeria. We have empowered employees and incentivized them to perform. We just finished the first fiscal year and for the first time since 15 years, we ended up with a profit.”
“Retail is very tough, especially now in Germany. We incorporate the weakness of Germany, which is slow growth, a very defensive consumer, a lot of problems in terms of general policy, work against the automobile, which is reducing traffic in the inner cities. Now we are working on how to revitalize inner cities. We have introduced services like selling tickets for shows.”
Bernd Beetz is Executive Chairman of the German department store chain Galeria, chairman of the Berlin-based eyewear manufacturer Mykita (in which LVMH has a stake) and co-founder of Scent Beauty, a New York-based perfumer. Previously, Bernd was CEO of Coty from 2001 to 2012. He has served as President and CEO of Parfums Christian Dior France and held various management positions during his 20-year career at Procter & Gamble.
Remi Le Druillenec:
“Retail is an art. For us, it's putting together a million little things that will create a magical moment. It will elevate the product and create a memory and a connection with the person entering a boutique. The product is key, but the memory associated with how you acquired it and the storytelling around the product - this is what will remain in your head and in your heart.”
“We think that it's important to assess the performance of the client journey. Our R.O.X. method (Return On eXperience) enables us to audit the performance of an experience at every step.”
Rémi Le Druillenec is an expert in brand experience and luxury retail with more than 15 years of experience. In 2020, he co-founded the Parisian agency Héroïne, which works with brands such as Cartier, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Fred, Moët & Chandon and Amouage. Through its proprietary R.O.X.™ (Return On eXperience) methodology, Héroïne transforms customer experience into a lever for growth, loyalty and desirability, both in France and the Middle East.
Sylvie Freund-Pickavance:
“The writer Maya Angelou said: people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. In our business, everything we do is focused on how we make people feel when they arrive in our villages and prior to that.”
“We work with the best brands in the world and we help them acquire new customers.”
Sylvie Freund-Pickavance is Global Strategy and Business Development Director at Value Retail for The Bicester Collection portfolio of 12 luxury shopping destinations in Europe, China and the U.S. Previously, she was CEO of lingerie brand Princesse Tam-Tam. She spent 13 years with Cartier in Asia and North America, running their retail and marketing divisions. She was Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Merchandising Officer at De Beers Jewellers. In addition to mentoring young designers, Sylvie serves on several boards and she is a Foreign Trade Advisor to the French Government.
Manuel Emch and Florent Perrichon on how to build a watch brand:
Manuel Emch:
“The product is key. You start with the product and you build around the product. Some brands have history, others don’t. In the past 25 years, I've built eight watch brands. And they date from 1721 to 2025. In the end, it always comes down to the product. That’s what makes a brand successful, whether it has heritage or not.”
Manuel Emch, a brand builder, is recognized for shaping some of the most original voices in contemporary watchmaking. He is the co-owner and CEO of Louis Erard and co-founder of the young and innovative watch brand kollokium. Manuel advises several independent watchmakers and key retailers in Switzerland, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia and India. He is currently developing two new brands. At the age of 28, he became the Swatch Group’s youngest CEO when he took up the executive reins of Jaquet Droz in 2001. Manuel was a member of the Swatch Group’s Extended Management Board. Until 2022, he was chairman of Raketa, Russia’s oldest watch brand, based in St Petersburg.
Florent Perrichon:
“The best way to build a brand is to let the watchmaker create and flourish without interference. Laurent Ferrier was allowed to do the watch of his dream. He did things that were not supposed to be done, that were supposed to be against the market. And it worked. We have tons of examples like this in the watch industry. Just do a product. Believe in the product. Don't listen to any market, don't listen to any retailer. Don't listen to anyone. Just go for it.”
Florent Perrichon brings more than 25 years of leadership across the luxury sector. He held senior roles at TAG Heuer and De Beers, and revitalized Cerruti as CEO. He was appointed interim CEO of Laurent Ferrier this year, having served on its board since 2013. A passionate advocate for innovation, Florent is also Chairman of the Swiss AI scale-up Neural Concept, and he is an active business angel supporting technology ventures.
Riccardo Bellini:
“In fashion, you always search for newness. The key is to remain timeless while being connected to the spirit of the time. When you manage a brand, you essentially manage the fine balance between timeless and Zeitgeist. If you are too connected to the spirit of the times, you risk going to go out of fashion after a while. If you are too timeless, you risk becoming outdated, a brand only for your mother and father.”
Riccardo Bellini is the CEO of Valentino, brings three decades of managerial experience in the fashion and luxury industry. Previously, he was Managing Director of Mayhoola, the Qatari investment fund that owns Valentino and Balmain. He also served as CEO of Maison Margiela (OTB) and Chloé (Richemont). He has held senior business and marketing leadership roles at Diesel (OTB) and Procter & Gamble.
Nina Müller:
“Whatever we do, our ambition is to make emotion tangible. Beyond crystal, we translate Lalique’s heritage and distinctive style into a contemporary global luxury brand, respectful of people and the environment.”
“Collaboration has always been part of Lalique’s history, but it must feel authentic. It has to be based on shared values and a common respect for creativity and craftsmanship.”
“Two areas express this heritage most strongly: jewelry and perfume. Jewelry was our starting point—René Lalique was a visionary jewelry designer. In parallel, we are carefully repositioning Lalique as a fragrance brand, bringing clarity and long-term vision. This next chapter will be revealed in the coming year.”
Nina Müller is the CEO of Lalique Group, focusing on developing its three pillars: crystal artistry, beauty and hospitality. She champions innovation, cultural depth and international
growth, forging new paths to make the soul of the brand tangible across all touchpoints. Nina spent more than a decade at Swarovski, where she held various leadership roles, including Global Director of Retail Marketing and Head of Retail Concepts. From 2020 to 2023, she served as CEO of Jelmoli, Switzerland’s oldest department store.
