For international luxury retailers battered by the financial crisis in Europe and the United States, the Middle East has an enduring allure and has remained, in spite of weakening sales figures, an essential market. Unlike other countries in the region, Lebanon’s luxury retail sector has shown resilience and solid growth in 2009, with the sector also seeing dramatic structural changes. In 2003, the Middle East retail industry was valued at some $200 billion; by the end of 2008 this value had swelled to more than $400 billion, according to a report by the Bharat Book Bureau, a market research firm. While Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen as the most vital markets for retailers in the Middle East — a role they are expected to maintain in the coming years — Lebanon seems to have slowly emerged from its slumber, with many luxury retailers launching stores in
