Category: Shopping

Urban Outfitters, the lifestyle retailer opened its first store in Kuwait at The Avenue this past weekend. I passed by to check out my favorite section which is the lifestyle area that usually has vinyl records, film cameras, and various books but they didn’t have any of that here instead they had just homeware items. My guess is that wasn’t really in their control.

Pricewise we are pretty similar to the Dubai store prices if not exactly the same, but we’re around 7-10% more expensive than the stores in Europe (the tags all have the Euro prices on them to compare).

Urban Outfitters is located in Avenues Phase II, between Dean & Deluca and Baroue.

Heineken’s 0.0 non-alcoholic beer is now available in Kuwait and Sultan Center has them for sale. I love the way the cases look stacked up because for just a second, it helps you visualize what a supermarket in Kuwait would look like if alcohol was actually legal. The price for a 6-pack is KD3.9 or 650 fils per bottle.

Alo Yoga, the Los Angeles-based premium lifestyle/yoga brand is opening at The Avenues this coming Wednesday afternoon. It will be their first store in Kuwait and it’s going to be located next to the Mercedes showroom in the Grand Plaza.

To stay posted on the launch or to check out pictures from their event this past weekend, check them out on Instagram @alo.me

Singarea, the popular Asian supermarket has officially opened their new location in Salmiya. This is their third location in Kuwait, the other two being in Shuwaikh and Mahboula.

The new location is around the lake in Boulevard Park, right next to the restaurant Izmir. When I dropped by they were still unpacking some boxes but the space was looking good although didn’t seem as big as their Shuwaikh location, neither did it have as many freezers and fridges will all those food items.

Their Salmiya branch is open daily from 10AM to 10PM and if you want to pass by and check it out, here is the location on Google Maps. Just a note, at the time of this post there was no signage outside but just head to Izmir and it’s the building right next to it.

Honest Grocer is a new local grocery store that sells only healthy food products. That’s not really new in Kuwait but what sets Honest Grocer apart from the competition is the fact that their selection of products is curated using their stringent nutritional and ethical guidelines. These guidelines include:

• No artificial additives
• No preservatives and emulsifiers
• No fillers
• Non-GMO
• No Soy Lecithin
• Free from or the lowest possible levels of sugar alcohol and refined sugar
• Organic (the majority of which are certified)

Navigating their different products is really simple on their website since their interface is very basic. So for example, if you’re looking for keto products or products that are sugar-free, you can get access to them easily from the main page with just a click. They’re also located on Deliveroo which makes ordering from them easy although their products are only categorized by brand on that platform.

The only downside like everything healthy is the price. Because you’re getting the best quality ingredients you’re going to have to pay for it and that can mean 5KD for a chocolate spread or 600fils for a bag of chips. They sent over goodies to my office and the first thing we did was replace all the unhealthy snacks we had in our pantry with their products. Now I just need to convince the accountant why he needs to increase our pantry budget so we can continue to stock up on these healthier but more expensive snacks.

If you can afford it, then definitely check out Honest Grocer either on Deliveroo or their website myhonestgrocer.com

Back in March, I posted about a local shop called Onebase that sold weighted blankets. Not a lot of people managed to grab one before they sold out but I noticed last night that they were back in stock.

Weighted blankets are considered to be therapeutic and can benefit people with anxiety, autism, and insomnia. Some people find sleeping with a weighted blanket very calming like they’re being hugged.

If you want to check out the weighted blankets at Onebase, click here.

Every time we get heavy rainfall and Kuwait floods I tell myself I should get rainboots. For the past few years, I’ve been wearing my Yeezy 950’s during floods but they aren’t really that waterproof. Plus I just checked to see how much they sell on StockX and I definitely shouldn’t be using them as rainboots anymore. A couple of weeks ago while out exploring in Jahra I got into a situation that involved mud and had to turn back because I was wearing sneakers. So I decided I’d buy a pair of rain boots and just keep them in the back of my Hilux for when I need them.

I wanted to get a pair of dark green Hunter wellington boots but couldn’t find any place locally selling them and so started looking online. I was hoping to find a shop online that offered free returns in case the size wasn’t the correct one and after looking at a bunch of places, I found out Selfridges did free returns. So I ordered the boots from there. Turns out there are actually a bunch of good reasons to shop on Selfridges online which is why I’m posting about it.

Free Returns
So firstly the point I just mentioned is they have free returns. This is great because you could order stuff, try them on, and if anything doesn’t fit the way it should you can return them.

Tax-Free
The second good reason is that shopping is tax-free. Because you’re shipping from Selfridges straight to Kuwait, they remove the VAT from the price which is an instant 17% discount.

Cheap and Unlimited Shipping
Their shipping rates are really really cheap. The boots I ordered are fairly heavy, came in the biggest box I’ve ever seen and it cost me only £25 (KD9) for shipping. And it’s not like they shipped it with regular mail, they shipped using Aramex. To top it off it didn’t matter what I added to my cart, or how many items I added, the shipping price stayed fixed at £25. What’s even crazier is the fact they have unlimited deliveries for £40 (KD14.5) a year which is like wtf, how do they even make money? I’m seriously contemplating just signing up for their unlimited delivery plan and just doing all my shopping there. And just to be clear, this is unlimited shipping to Kuwait.

The boots ended up fitting me fine so I’m keeping them but I was kinda curious to try out their return policy. I should also mention they were selling the boots for pretty cheap as well compared to other places. After removing the VAT I paid 37KD for them without shipping. So great prices, cheap shipping and free returns, basically everything you want when shopping online. selfridges.com

Over the weekend I visited the Outdoor Sport & Safari Expo and found out we now have a Solo Stove dealer in Kuwait. Solo Stoves are really great outdoor fire pits that are very practical for lighting a fire in your backyard or when out in the desert. Their firepits also have the added benefit of being smokeless due to the way they’re designed. Since winter is coming you might want to pick one up before they sell out. Here is the price comparison between the local price and Amazon if you were to ship them:

Solo Stove Ranger (Small)
Kuwait: 105KD
Amazon: 116KD

Solo Stove Bonfire (Medium)
Kuwait: 138KD
Amazon: 154KD

Solo Stove Yukon (Large)
Kuwait: 215KD
Amazon: 290KD

If you’re interested, here is the link to the local dealer outdoor.com.kw

The expo was actually pretty cool, I ended up picking up a few things that were on sale including a couple of collapsable camping chairs (8KD each), a small collapsable table to go with it (also 8KD), and an ARB recovery snatch strap (priced 22KD instead of the usual 28).

I was planning to get these camping chairs so I can throw them inside one of my storage trunks in the back of my Hilux and had one by a company called OneTigris on my Amazon wishlist. But, the total for two shipped to Kuwait was coming out to 40KD which was overkill considering I might only use them a couple of times. Then I found similar chairs but obviously not the same quality at JYSK for 5.5KD and bought a pair. I decided to buy those and figured if I did actually get some use out of them I could then splurge on better quality ones.

Right after buying the chairs from JYSK I headed to the expo and found better quality ones on discount for 8KD from a place called Extreme Outdoors. So I ended up picking up a pair from there and a small table to go along with them and they fit in my storage trunk with plenty of room left for me to store other things. Now I need to return the ones I got from JYSK but they’re actually really good value if anyone is looking for chairs to take into the desert this winter (pictured above). Here is the link for them on the JYSK website.

IKEA and electronic music artists Swedish House Mafia have teamed up to make everyday life easier for those who produce, perform, play, or listen to music. They’ve come together to launch the OBEGRÄNSAD collection which contains more than 20 products (including a record player) that are being launched globally this month. IKEA Kuwait confirmed their products will be launching here soon but hasn’t shared a date.

Personally, I need to pick up a couple of the records stands to replace the current IKEA wooden crates I’m using. They also have a cool records bag which I might pick up. You can check the full collection on the US IKEA page here.

You can also access the IKEA Kuwait OBEGRÄNSAD collection page but there isn’t anything there yet. Here is that link.

Since the British Pound is so low right now I figured I’d post a reminder about the fact that you can order stuff from Amazon UK to Kuwait directly.

Why should you order from Amazon UK?

• As of this post, 1KD = £3
• When you ship stuff to Kuwait directly, the 20% VAT is removed reducing the price considerably
• Even after shipping and local customs, the price pretty much evens out to the UK listed price

This works best with expensive items since the more expensive the item, the more money you save with the VAT removed. The money saved with the VAT you then put towards the shipping cost. This obviously doesn’t work on everything but its worth giving a shot.

Urban Outfitters the lifestyle brand is opening its first store in Kuwait at The Avenues after opening in the UAE and Qatar. I actually passed by the one in Dubai yesterday and I’ve definitely outgrown the brand but, they do carry a good assortment of vinyl records so if we’re lucky those make it to Kuwait.

via @InspiredEdibles

The new iPhone 14 and 14 Pro will be available to pre-order on the Apple website in a few days and if you don’t want to wait for it to officially launch in Kuwait, you can pre-order the phone from Apple directly.

There are two things you need, a US forwarding address like Shop&Ship or MyUS, and a US Apple Store account.

US Forwarding Mailbox
This is something you most likely have already, if not you can get an account by visiting myus.com or shopandship.com and signing up for one. When ordering from Apple.com I always prefer to use MyUS due to the fact the mailbox is located in Florida and so all the items you purchase from Apple are tax free. The amount I save on tax I use to pay for shipping. Last year I paid 16KD to ship the phone from my MyUS mailbox to Kuwait using FedEx 1-3 Days Priority. If you don’t mind waiting there are cheaper shipping options available as well.

US Apple Store Account
Unlike what a lot of people think, you don’t need to have a US credit card to order from the Apple.com website. I have an account that uses my Shop&Ship address as my billing address and my NBK credit card for payments, and I have no issues purchasing laptops and phones from the website and shipping them to my MyUS address. I’ve been doing this for years now and just a couple of weeks back ordered the new MacBook Air that way.

Is it cheaper to buy the iPhone from the US? Yeah, it is. Depending on which iPhone you’re thinking of buying it could be a bit cheaper (and not really worth it) or a lot cheaper. Not only that but you could actually make a bit of money buying an iPhone by reselling it in Kuwait for more than what you paid for since demand, in the beginning, will be a lot higher than availability.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.

A Disney store is opening in Avenues Phase 4. I was aware Alshaya had gotten the Disney brand for the MENA region but supposedly just for shop-in-shops where they would open small Disney stores inside existing stores like Debenhams and Mothercare. But, based on the hoarding, looks like they’ll also be opening a standalone store.

I found out about the website and app Nabati from a vegan friend of mine, it’s an online grocery store that specializes in only vegan products. They check the ingredients for each and every product they sell to make sure that what they’re selling is totally vegan making the shopping experience super convenient for vegans.

My two best friends are vegan, well one is an ex-vegan now but I’ve spent a lot of time shopping with them to know it’s a slow process of having to read the ingredients of items they haven’t purchased before to check and see if they’re vegan or not. Having a store where you know everything they’re selling is vegan-friendly takes a lot of hassle out of shopping.

If you’re a vegan, check out nabatistore.com

Dry Drink is an online store that sells non-alcoholic drinks. It’s a UAE-based company but they do deliver in Kuwait by the next day so they must have a local warehouse. I have zero interest in non-alcoholic drinks and I don’t understand why people drink them (there are better-tasting drinks if you don’t want alcohol).

But, if you’re one of those people who enjoy the taste of non-alcoholic gin (🤢) or other drinks, Dry Drink seems to have a good variety of options, most of which I haven’t come across before.

They offer free delivery if you order 30KD or more worth of drinks and they offer taster bundles which is a good way to try a variety of different drinks on a budget. If you want to check it out, here is the link.