The Qode Announces Expansion to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Left to right: The Qode's Founders, Ayman Fakoussa and Dipesh Depala along with CEO at the Independents Group, Isabelle Chouvet

Regional luxury communications and events agency, The Qode announces the opening of a regional office in the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new office in Riyadh is part of The Qode’s wider expansion plans into the Kingdom, in response to the rising demand for credible representation from luxury, lifestyle, and F&B brands investing in Saudi Arabia.

Ranked amongst the top 15 countries with the highest consumption of luxury goods globally, Saudi Arabia represents the largest GCC country with one of the biggest percentages of high-net-worth individuals amongst its population. The Qode’s Co-Founders and Managing Partners, Ayman Fakoussa and Dipesh Depala, along with their partners at The Independents group, identified a growing need from existing and potential clients to invest in this increasingly important market, one, unlike any other GCC country.

Commenting on the expansion, Fakoussa said, “My family has been in Saudi Arabia since 1980, and I grew up among highly educated and well-traveled Saudi friends.  This new generation of Saudis represents the future of the Kingdom and is part of the foundation that drives Saudi Vision 2030, under the leadership of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The Qode is proud to be part of this remarkable progress in Saudi Arabia, and we are thrilled to be able to offer our clients a unique perspective from within KSA, in an effort to consistently improve our level of service and innovation.”

The Kingdom has undergone important shifts, resulting in the tremendous appetite for new experiences, lifestyle offerings, and entertainment amongst the Saudi population. With so many recent developments, it is crucial for companies to have local insights successfully enter this significant market.

“Most of the large luxury groups now have local entities in the Kingdom, along with full marketing and events teams that often operate independently from the regional offices in Dubai, which is why having an on-ground team is imperative,” explained Depala.

The Qode, with its partner agencies at The Independents Group (Bureau Betak, Karla Otto, Lefty, and K2), aims to contribute to the Kingdom’s transformation into a leading global hub by supporting the introduction of unique new experiences, exciting lifestyle offerings, and groundbreaking entertainment events through the agency’s ever-expanding client portfolio. 

Speaking on the overall development of The Independents Group, CEO Isabelle Chouvet added “The Middle East market is a very important region for our clients and as a group, we look forward to developing our services in the region with our companies, with the local support of our partners The Qode. We are already working on several projects in the region with Karla Otto in terms of communications as well as events for our global clients with K2 and Bureau Betak.”

Speaking about the new developments, Zeina Hallassou Sakr, The Qode’s General Manager said,“The expansion into the Kingdom has been in the works since 2019 and were unfortunately stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the agency’s positive growth projections have enabled us to resume our expansion plans and invest significantly into Saudi.”

The Qode held its first KSA brand showcase (press day) in Riyadh on Sunday, 30th January at ‘The A Fashion House’ in BLVD Riyadh Seasons.  The event was attended by media, influencers, clients, and VIPs and showcased the latest collections from brands in its portfolios such as Givenchy, MCM, Rimowa, Mouawad, Bil Arabi, Louboutin, IWC, Mango, H&M, COS, Zara, Alo Yoga and many more.  To mark their launch in Saudi Arabia in a meaningful way, The Qode collaborated with a local charity that uses artworks made by children with down syndrome to create sweatshirts to gift to their clients.  A donation was made to Saut: The Voice of Down Syndrome Society as part of The Qode’s ongoing philanthropic efforts.