Authorised Investment Fund’s investee Aenea Cosmetics gains exclusive entry into Dubai’s luxurious spa hotel market
Authorised Investment Fund is set to capitalise on the UAE’s growing spa market.
Authorised Investment Fund’s (ASX: AIY) 30%-owned investee company Aenea Cosmetics has gained access to the UAE’s luxury spa and wellness industry after partnering with Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah and Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre.
The partnership, to start early next year, will enable Aenea to be the only professional and retail skin care provider for the hotels’ ultra-luxury spas.
Highlighting the significance of the partnership, Aenea cited a recent report by The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) which identified the Middle East and North Africa spa market as the fastest growing in the world.
The UAE spa industry was estimated to be valued at US$460 million in 2017 and is expected to top US$500 million by 2020.
UAE’s wellness tourism market is now nearly two times bigger (AED$2.7 billion) than its closest competitor, Morocco (AED$1.5 billion).
Aenea founder Damien Zannetou said the partnership signified an incredibly exciting time for the aspiring first luxury high tech skin care range company.
“To be associated alongside the Best Luxury Spa Hotel Middle East 2018, as also the winner of the Global Wealth and Finance Awards for Best Luxury Skin Care Product 2018 shows two incredible forces coming together in what is the fastest growing spa market in the world, the Middle East,” he said.
Luxury spa in the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah.
Aenea’s skin care products include the LifeStyle Enhancer, Modern Shield, Anti-Stress Super Hero, and the Anti-Pollution Guardian
The company says its product range is designed to combat aging factors such as pollution and UV radiation.
AIY poised to benefit from Aenea’s rapid growth
As a pooled development fund, Authorised Investment Fund provides passive equity capital to small or medium companies, with Aenea being one of those investments.
The firm only increased its equity stake in Aenea back in October to 30%, up from its initial 10% holding.
Speaking with Small Caps Authorised Investment Fund chairman Ben Genser said the partnership firmly placed Aenea in the top percentile of luxury cosmetics and skin care globally.
“Having beaten out all the global brands, it’s incredible to have Aenea’s brand exclusively selected for use at one of the best hotels in the world servicing the luxurious spa market,” he said.
“Aenea is coming up through the ranks and people are taking epigenetics seriously as a viable means to taking care of your skin.”
The Middle East expansion builds on Aeneas established presence in Harrods in the UK and Bergdorf Goodman in the US, and Genser is confident there is further room for Aenea to grow its global footprint.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if Waldorf adopted Aenea across all of their resorts given there are 175 hotels and resorts across the Waldorf and Hilton brands,” he added.
Recent progress
Last week Aenea announced a new digital distribution agreement, in addition to media coverage in the Financial Times, The Telegraph and luxury magazines across the UK and US had an immediate effect, resulting in A$200,000 in pre order sales for its epigenetics products.
In addition, another of its investee companies, Asian Integrated Media (AIM), had entered into the Chinese market after successfully launching bespoke programmatic digital advertising company Travel Elite in the East Asian country.