Category: Shopping

Primark is opening their first location in Kuwait this Thursday, and yesterday I was given access to the store to check out the space. If you’ve ever been to Debenhams in that location, you’ll be familiar with it. The biggest change is that the basement is now closed off, and the back entrance that opened to the Electra district of Avenues is also closed.

The one thing everyone’s curious about is the prices. Primark is known for its trendy styles at very low prices, so how do Kuwait’s prices compare with the UK?

I walked around the store randomly taking photos of price tags so I could compare them with the UK website. I searched for each item using its code, converted the UK prices to Kuwaiti Dinars, and rounded up. I then plugged all the data into ChatGPT to calculate the difference. Here’s the result:

Men
Average difference: +0.460 fils
Average % higher: 8.4%

Women
Average difference: +390 fils
Average % higher: 5.8%

Kids
Average difference: +510 fils
Average % higher: 15.8%

Other
Average difference: +120 fils
Average % higher: 7.8%

Overall average difference:
+0.410 fils, which is roughly 8.7% higher in Kuwait compared to the UK.

So basically the prices are pretty close!

Primark is opening in Phase 4 of The Avenues this coming Thursday, October 23 at 2PM. If you want to check out the prices of different items as well as more photos of the interior, check my instagram post.

Finally, I’ve been waiting for this to happen since Aramex acquired MyUS. One of the benefits to using MyUS over Shop&Ship was that they were based in Florida which meant we didn’t have to pay a sales tax. Awhile ago I got an email from Shop&Ship letting me know they’ve now changed their US mailbox address from being based in New York to now being based in Florida. This means any shipments sent to your Shop&Ship US address will no longer be taxed.

I wonder if Amazon offering free shipping to Kuwait was the reason they decided to finally shift from NY to Florida.

The new address is now:

Name: Firstname Lastname
Address Line 1: 4297 Express Lane, Sarasota
Address Line 2: Your S&S Mailbox Number
City: Sarasota
State: Florida
Country: United States
Zip Code: 34249-2602
Phone: 9413262501

You should update your address immediately.

I don’t have a dirt bike but I found out about this place in Kuwait that does decals and sells plastic body panels for dirt bikes. It’s very niche which is why I figured I’d post about it in case someone ever tries using google to find a place that does this.

The place is called MOTORRAD and their instagram account is @motorradkw

Back in August, I posted about using AliExpress for the first time to purchase a couple of items, and I was really impressed with the experience. They’re now always top of mind when I think about getting something online, which is why I ordered from them again 10 days ago.

I wanted to buy a wireless CarPlay adapter for my Hilux (this was before I decided to sell it). From the factory, CarPlay only works with a USB cable, but I found out about a tiny USB adapter called the CarlinKit Mini Ultra. You just plug it into the USB port, and your phone connects to CarPlay wirelessly. The price on the CarlinKit website was around KD 18 at the time with free shipping (it’s now discounted to about KD 15). Just before checking out, I decided to see if it was available on AliExpress since it’s a Chinese company and it was.

There were plenty of options, and I found one selling it for KD 4.3 with 600 fils shipping. I ended up paying just KD 4.9 for the item, shipped from China straight to my door! I honestly don’t understand how that’s possible. It costs me more than 600 fils to get a burger delivered from Five Guys down the street.

So I guess this is another post recommending AliExpress, also the adapter. Been using it for the past few days and it’s pretty great. There is a slight lag between an input and something happening, like you click forward for a song and it takes maybe a second or less for the track to move forward. It’s not a deal breaker and something that you’d get used to. I have the same issue with the aftermarket CarPlay unit I installed in my e46 BMW.

Yesterday Carrefour stopped operating in Kuwait. They don’t list a reason for why, but it’s assumed the boycott hurt them a lot.

A reader emailed me to let me know that some Carrefour locations are now branded Hypermax. Hypermax like Carrefour is also owned by Majid Al Futtaim and is their own brand, not a franchise.

I previously mentioned that Spinneys would be taking over the Carrefour location in The Avenues. I think the chances of that happening now are really high.

Ulta Beauty Kuwait has an official opening date and it’s Friday, November 7.

Kecia Steelman, the CEO of Ulta Beauty, announced the date at a pre-launch party in Dubai this past weekend. Their first location in Kuwait will be at The Avenues, taking over the spot where Dean & Deluca used to be. It will also be the first Ulta Beauty location outside the U.S.

I visited Ulta Beauty for the first time a few weeks ago while I was in LA. The store felt like a mix between Boots and Sephora and wasn’t that visually appealing, but I’ve been told the Kuwait and Dubai locations will have a more premium look.

Ulta Beauty’s Middle East instagram account is @ultabeautymiddleeast

With the new iPhones just released and pre-orders starting tomorrow, a lot of people will be trying to get one. If you’re planning on getting a new iPhone, pre-ordering from Gait makes a lot of sense since they’ve got a few perks you might like.

First, if you like upgrading every year, Gait gives you up to 60% guaranteed buyback when you switch to your next iPhone. That way you don’t need to wait around trying to sell your old one and you always stay up to date.

They also have GaitCare, which comes with a free screen protector and accidental damage repairs. Basically, it’s an extra safety net for your phone and your wallet.

On top of that, you can save 30% on their Gilga essential kit. It includes a clear case, a screen protector, and a lens protector, so your iPhone is fully covered without hiding the design.

And if you’d rather not pay the whole amount upfront, they offer 0% installment payments over 12 months. You can also trade in your old device to lower the price even more.

So if you were already planning to get the new iPhone, pre-ordering with Gait is a good deal. Pre-orders open tomorrow, Friday September 12 at 3PM. Check them out gait.com.kw

I just got the official prices for the new iPhones in Kuwait. These are the prices authorized Apple resellers will be following:

iPhone 17 256GB – KD 300
iPhone 17 512GB – KD 370

iPhone Air 256GB – KD 378
iPhone Air 512GB – KD 448
iPhone Air 1TB – KD 518

iPhone 17 Pro 256GB – KD 410
iPhone 17 Pro 512GB – KD 480
iPhone 17 Pro 1TB – KD 550

iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB – KD 445
iPhone 17 Pro Max 512GB – KD 520
iPhone 17 Pro Max 1TB – KD 590
iPhone 17 Pro Max 2TB – KD 740

I also asked about the prices of the new AirPods and Ultra Watch since I’m interested in both:

AirPods Pro 3 – KD 92
Watch Ultra 3 – KD 280

As I mentioned earlier today, pre-orders start on September 12 and then become available on the 19th.

Update: Here is the price of the iPhone 17 Pro 256GB compared to the rest of the world:

Kuwait KD410

Australia KD404
Canada KD353
France KD476
Germany KD465
Honk Kong KD370
Italy KD480
India KD468
Saudi KD423
Spain KD472
Switzerland KD420
UAE KD391
UK KD455
United States KD336

A couple of weeks ago I posted Spinneys might be opening in Kuwait, and it’s now official. Spinneys just announced they’re entering Kuwait through a joint venture with Alshaya Group.

Kuwait will be their fourth GCC market, with ten stores planned and the first expected to open in 2026.

They don’t mention where the first store will be, but I’d previously heard Alshaya was looking to replace Carrefour in The Avenues with their own supermarket brand, so that might still be the case. Link

IKEA currently has a huge sale taking place, but this time they’re also doing something special.

Every weekend they’re hosting a variety of fun activities for kids, so you can shop, save, and make memories together. From balloon shows to science shows, the activities are happening at all IKEA branches:

IKEA The Avenues
IKEA The Warehouse, Sabahiya
IKEA Khiran Mall
IKEA 360 Mall
IKEA Assima Mall

Different branches have different schedules, so click the branches above to see what’s happening and when. @ikeakuwait

A couple of weeks ago I used AliExpress for the first time, for two orders back to back. I never had a reason to buy anything from AliExpress before but it just strangely happened that I needed to buy two different things from them.

I wanted to buy a CD player called the SMSL PL100. They were out of stock on Amazon but found it available on AliExpress with free shipping to Kuwait. Basically was going to be the same price as Amazon or maybe slightly cheaper. I placed the order on August 3rd.

The next thing I wanted to get was the new ANBERNIC RG 477M game console. It was available on the Abnernic website but they were charging $50 to ship to Kuwait. It was the same price on AliExpress with free shipping to Kuwait. So I placed the order on August 6.

I wanted the Anbernic for my LA flight which is later today and wasn’t sure if I’d get it in time. To my surprise both items were delivered to my door on August 13th. I thought they would arrive to the post office but similar to TEMU, my items got delivered to my home.

Overall it wasn’t a bad experience. I only had difficulty at first creating an account, both accounts I created were locked up instantly because it thought I was a bot or spam or something. Nearly put me off but then got it working. There are always offers as well it seems, and I used a coupon to get a discount on my Anbernic order as well. I’ll probably order more items from AliExpress in the future but with Amazon free shipping I’m not sure how often that will be. I always prefer buying from Amazon, but at least now I have a second site to compare prices with, at least with items that come from China anyway.

Back in June Amazon started offering free delivery to Kuwait which I’ve obviously been taking advantage of. One incident recently happened to me which I thought was worth sharing.

I was looking for a DAC that would take digital audio from my Mac mini and convert it to analogue to send to my KEF LSX speakers. I was using the Apple USB-C to headphone jack dongle but wanted something better. I previously ordered an optical in analogue out converter but it didn’t allow me to control the volume from my Mac mini, I had to do it from the speaker which I didn’t want to do. Anyway, after a lot of research with ChatGPT, and a limited budget of under $100, ChatGPT recommended I get the iFi UNO. According to ChatGPT I’d be able to control the volume from my Mac which was perfect.

ChatGPT was wrong. Last time I’m using it to help me buy electronics. Once plugged in I had to control the volume either from the speakers or the DAC but the volume control on my Mac wouldn’t do anything. I had bought it for around $80 plus I had ordered some high quality cables with it so I was down over $100. I was just going to dump it in my electronics box but decided to see if I could return it. I had thrown the box and manuals out already so wasn’t hopeful. I checked the return policy for Amazon and it turned out that if I returned the item even though it was without the box I might be entitled for possibly a 50% refund. Figured that was better than nothing.

So I applied to return both items. Returning the items was free of charge, I just had to print the DHL labels Amazon gave me and go to the DHL store to drop them off. Process at DHL took like 5 minutes, I didn’t even have to bring any packaging, they just dumped them into the standard DHL bags and shipped them. I mailed them back July 25, on July 31 I got a full refund back from Amazon!

That’s crazy. Forget the fact that they’re shipping the stuff for free to Kuwait, you can actually return the items for free as well, that’s really insane.

I’m a huge fan of KEF, since Xcite hooked me up with the LSX speakers 6 years ago, I’ve bought a second pair of LSX, a KEF R7 and now just got a pair of LS50 Metas. I wasn’t really looking for speakers but I was refurbishing one of my rooms that had a pair of floor standing speakers and decided I wanted to create more space by getting bookshelf ones. I had an extra pair of LSX lying around but then I found out the LS50 Metas were 44% off on Xcite and ended up buying a pair.

They’re literally the cheapest pair of LS50 Metas in the world. When BestBuy discounted them down to $1,000 in the US people in forums made a huge fuss about how much of a great deal that was, we have them for $650 in Kuwait. Well technically there is only one new pair left in that price point. For some reason the black and titanium colors aren’t discounted, only the white is priced at 199KD. When I bought mine the salesman told me there were only two pairs left, so one left now if anyone wants it. Link

Aesop is a premium Australian skincare brand known for its clean design, plant-based formulas, and beautifully designed stores. Yesterday, they put up an ‘opening soon’ hoarding at The Avenues, and I’m really excited about it.

I’m a huge fan of the brand and currently have a stockpile of their products at home since I tend to buy bottles of their hand soap and aromatique room sprays every time I travel. To finally have a store here where I can just walk in and pick something up is going to feel so weird. I’ve actually always been confused as to why Bloomingdale’s didn’t carry Aesop in Kuwait, especially since their Dubai branch had it.

The first Aesop store in Kuwait is opening right next to Le Labo, where Tribe of 6 used to be. Aesop and Le Labo are pretty much competitors since they offer similar products at similar price points. That’s why I find it surprising that Alshaya let Aesop take that spot.

I don’t know when they’re opening or who brought them to Kuwait, so if you know, reach out to me.

If you want to check out some of my favorite Aesop interiors, I shared a bunch in my Instagram post.

Back in February I bought the Wolfbox electric air duster from Amazon. It had excellent reviews and in every comparison test it usually beat out the competition. I had it on my wish list for awhile and then when it dropped down to $62 I ordered one. That was before Amazon shipped free to Kuwait so I ended up paying $83 with shipping to Kuwait so say KD26.5 with my banks conversion rate.

I just found out that it’s now available locally for KD25, basically the same price I paid for it. The price of the blower is now $90 on Amazon and even through it’s free shipping to Kuwait there is an $11 import charge so the price locally is actually cheaper than Amazon. If you want one, it’s available here.