BizBahrain_December_2016

Interview | Faisal Al Zain
TRADITION TAKES
A NEW TURN
The Al Zain stand at the 25th
edition of Jewellery Arabia this
year was the quintessence of the
brand reflecting an elegance and
sleek design that perfectly showcased
Al Zain’s sophisticated and one-ofa-kind
pieces. Creating memories
through unique and inspirational
pieces since 1930, Al Zain not only
represents a very personal Bahraini
success story, but also, a long and
inspiring history of a family-owned
business. The current management
team from the Al Zain family is a
dynamic group of professionals,
and the fourth generation of the
family to uphold a legacy of success.
At the exhibition alongside their
long standing pearl and diamond
collections, they unveiled their new
metal bronze collection which takes
inspiration from the eighteenth
century paisley motif of the Baltic
States, an elegant tribute to a cultural
symbol of protective charms, strength
and modesty.
Reena Abraham, Group Editor,
bizbahrain talks to FAISAL AL ZAIN.
How long have you been involved with
the business of jewellery?
Since it’s a family business, you
could say I have never been away
from it. We understand the business
more than anything else. From when
I can remember it was all about Al
Zain. Conversations at family lunches,
dinners and get togethers would all
revolve around this. So in a way, my
brother, sister and I grew up on this.
It’s in our blood.
How would you classify Al Zain? Into
what category of jewellery does it come
into?
Well we cater to all sorts of tastes
and so in that way we are international.
Having said that, a lot of our jewellery
originated with the 21-carat Khaleeji
gold and the Khaleeji pearls, so that’s
where our origins. From there we have
moved into diamonds and pretty much
every other precious and semi precious
stone. We have created collections
around all that.
How does the process of creation
happen in your company? Who does
what?
We have always been a creative
family and I would say every piece
we create is a collaborative effort. I
am mostly in IT, HR and Marketing.
I have done animation courses and I
love that design aspect. I did a twoyear
Graphic and Jewellery Design
course in Milan. My sister, Noora,
followed the same path with a Graphic
and Communication Design. My
older brother Mohammed, who is the
CEO of the company, has a degree
in Business Management and many
years of banking experience and is
also a certified gemologist. We all work
together as a team, and we all have an
input into every piece, including my
mother who is also a big part of the
business.
How has the business changed in the
last years?
You know technology has changed
things in the last decade. We have
added that element as the modern
generation and it has made production
and internal systems including things
like stock checking more efficient.
At the time when my father,
Nabeel Al Zain, started working in
the business, he was involved in
every aspect, along with our General
Manager, Mohammed Hassan. They are
the perfect duo and have been the face
of Al Zain for a long time. But now they
are pushing us to step forward and
take the reins.
From a very small, centralized
organization, we now have specific
departments. We are organizing and
restructuring to take on the challenges
of this time. We are also involved in
educating our customers and creating
greater awareness of standards. We
now take on interns and run internship
programs. It’s all an on going process
and effort of education.
We are trying to modernize and
introduce systems. We are a family
organization and we have people who
have been with us many years, so we
respect that and yet introduce new
systems. This is where we the new
generation have come in.
Do you think the customer today is
every different?
Nowadays the customer is more
aware and educated about jewellery.
Even if they have the money they don’t
spend indiscriminately, they read up
and understand what they are buying
26 December 2016