Girard-Perregaux is one of the first of a number of high-end watchmakers to open monobrand outlets in the Beirut Souks. Executive sat down with Girard-Perregaux Vice President Stefano Macaluso recently to talk shop, the economy and the Lebanese market. E Monobrand outlets are a new phenomenon in Beirut’s high-end luxury market, and yet we’ve see a number of them cropping up already in the Beirut Souks. Any thoughts on what could be causing this trend? The idea of monobrand outlets is, as you say, relatively new here in Beirut, and I think it reflects an increased interest by big-name brands in Lebanon and in the Middle East in general. At a time when luxury watchmakers were tallying losses in Europe and the United States, sales soared in this region. Even in Dubai, which suffered its own imploding economic bubble, we had our best year ever for top-end, extremely complicated pieces
