Category: Shopping

I just got an email telling me that in a few days time the first ever PUMA store is going to open up in Kuwait and also for the first time, a Nike concept store. The email didn’t mention where in Kuwait they’re opening but I am assuming The Avenues. Here are two exclusive pictures of both stores.

update: They will either be opening today or tomorrow and it’s confirmed, they are opening at The Avenues.

update 2: OK, another update, turns out they already opened up today morning. Both stores plus an Adidas store are all inside the new concept Athlete’s Foot store next to Va Va Voom. Doesn’t sound as exciting as having individual stores but will pass by for lunch and check it out.

update 3: Hopefully the final update. The stores are SIS (stores in stores). They carry the same exclusive stuff as the individual Puma and Nike stores. Problem with Puma and Nike is that if they open a flagship store they have to be the actual owners which is not possible in Kuwait. So in Kuwait this is the closest we are going to get to having individual stores. Adidas on the other hand are ok with selling you the franchise hence the Adidas store at Marina Mall.

I have a passion for vintage toys and video games and recently I realized if I had a lot of extra cash lying around what I would love to start collecting is vintage Matchbox cars like the one pictured above and currently currently going for $330 on eBay!. Thats one expensive little toy car…

I was watching two items on eBay today, the first was a brand new boxed Popeye Game & Watch, the second was a brand new boxed Oil Panic Game & Watch. I was willing to pay max $200 which I figured was a pretty good chunk of change but I just got home and checked to find out that I lost both bids. Both items got sold for around $270 each!

update: Just lost another bid this time on a boxed Simon, but whats messed up is I lost by 50 cents only!

I was passing by Mac&More in Marina Mall when I spotted what looked like a cool jacket in the display. Turns out it was the iJacket by Zegna. The jacket has iPod integration meaning you can plug in your iPod into the jacket and then control it via invisible buttons on the sleeve. Its priced at around KD240.

The new Sony Ericsson P1i is in Kuwait and available at the dealer (Barrak) for KD225 or KD204 if you are an MTC user.

Thanks MeHRAJA

If yes then I have to recommend the Canon PowerShot A550. I have the older version and I keep it in my car and use it as my everyday point and shoot camera. The camera is 7.1MP and has a lot of features including full manual control and uses regular AA batteries which makes it practical when traveling. Now here is the best part, the camera is now on sale at Amazon.com and costs only $128!! Thats KD36 which is REALLY CHEAP. [Amazon Link]

Post inspired from 4thring

They are selling the limited edition Bugatti Perfume at The Avenues for a price of only KD975. The picture above is of the gold plated, 400 piece limited edition version but the one at The Avenues is the chrome plated edition with 4,000 pieces world wide. So one more time in case you think I mistyped, its KD975 for a bottle of perfume thats Nine, Seven and Five!

I’ve had my eye on the Sonos digital music system for awhile now but I never bought it because I simply don’t listen to music at home. Today while I was at Alghanim Electronics I saw the device in person for the first time and it actually looks as pretty as in the pictures.

I don’t know how long they’ve been selling it for since I don’t frequent Alghanim, but the Sonos was priced pretty expensive at KD436. The newer and larger bundle on Amazon costs only KD288.

I just heard that Virgin in Marina Mall is closing down and that Bershka will open in its place.

Villa Moda started their summer sale on Saturday and it ends tomorrow (not sure about this). They have 35% off on most brands except for Gucci. Since they haven’t advertised their sale the place isn’t that packed. For more details on the sale you can call them up on 4827004. I tried calling them now to find out if the sale ended tomorrow but its 9AM and they are still closed.

Thanks Dana

I prefer passing by an actual supermarket to buy my groceries but this could be an attractive solution for people who don’t have the time to physically go and shop.

There are two local online grocery stores that I know of, taw9eel.com and foodkuwait.com. Foodkuwait.com requires you to sign up and login before you can do your shopping which is really stupid. Taw9eel.com on the other hand allows you to browse their products before you decide to sign up or order.

Ansam posted a letter someone had written to Carrefour management complaining about the shopping cart rules. The person was pissed because he wasn’t allowed to push his cart through the mall. Well yeah, I kinda understand why that rule is in place. Imagine everyone roaming around Avenues with a shopping cart, it would be total chaos. But, if I understood his letter correctly, you are also not allowed to push your cart in the parking lot outside the designated Carrefour area. That I think might cause a problem since when you enter the Avenues parking during peak hours its difficult to find an empty parking spot yet a lone one thats in the Carrefour area. Anyway you can read the letter on Ansams blog. [Link]

I was showing my partner at work the blog uncrate.com when we got to the post on the Obelisk chairs (pictured above and right below). I was telling him about how cool the design was when he told me his cousin has them in her store. So during our lunch break we both headed to his cousins store called Home House which is located adjacent to the Amiri Hospital on the Gulf Road.

Right as we walked into the store which was actually an old Kuwaiti house we spotted the Obelisk right in front of us. It was exactly like the one we saw on uncrate except we didn’t expect it to be this big. We were given a tour of the place and it turns out they have some really really nice stuff. I really don’t know where to start since I literally fell in love with their brands.

I guess I will start with my favorite brand they carry which is Vange. They have some of the most beautiful industrial designs. Just flipping through their website now while writing this is giving me goose bumps. Most of the Vange stuff is by order but they had the K-Baby, the K-Bench and the MAUI console on display. I loved the K-Bench and the MAUI series of shelving is just so hot!

After the Vange we were shown some stuff by Gandia Blasco. Their stuff are mostly for patios, chalets and beaches, they reminded me a lot of the stuff I see on CSI: Miami. Their style is the very modern outdoor furniture which comes all in white, very straight edged with white drapes and they are very very sexy stuff.

Finally we were shown some lighting systems by Tobias Grau. It was another brand I hadn’t heard of before but again they have some really really slick looking lamps. So minimal and so cleanly designed. If Apple were to make lamps this is how they would come out.

I am probably going to go back there and see how much the MAUI console and the K-Bench cost since I would love to have them in my place. I didn’t ask their prices while I was there for some reason so I don’t know how much they cost. The Obelisk costs around KD1,600 which although isn’t cheap, its still cheaper then in the US where they sell for $8,500.

If you want to pass by the place its very easy to find. If you take the right after the Amiri hospital you will find that the first house on the left is called Bait Al Cedra. They are located right inside Bait Al Cedra. Its right next to the Karizma gallery. You can call them on 253 0358 in case you get lost or visit their website www.homehouse.be

Here are the websites to the brands:
Vange
Gandia Blasco
Tobias Grau

update: I made a mistake. The store is called Home House not Bait Al Cedra. Bait Al Cedra is the name of the old house where Home House is located. I just edited the post above to reflect this.

In the article below on online shopping one store that was mentioned was called Noutique. I think Noutique has a MAJOR flaw which is the fact that you have to create and account and log in BEFORE you can even see what they have available for sale!

Who is going to bother going through that hassle just so they can check out what they have for sale?

Sumayyah Meehan wrote the following article on online shopping for a local magazine but since the article advertises websites that don’t have ad accounts with the magazine, the story wasn’t published. Since its a good article I asked her if I could publish it here and she was fine with it. Here it is:

‘Cyber Shopping in Kuwait’

As anyone who has tried to order merchandise from online ‘cyber stores’ knows it can be a harrowing experience. It can be a total waste of time in that you surf for a couple of hours tracking down that gorgeous shirt or that must have DVD only to find out that they don’t ship to Kuwait. Or else you find someone who does ship to Kuwait and when your package arrives it is either not what you expected or damaged. No more. Just because you want to buy something online does not mean that you have to cross into another country’s cyber ‘border’ to get it. There are plenty of digital pioneers right here in Kuwait and they are armed with the most cutting edge and interactive online stores around. Are you ready to take shopping in Kuwait to a higher level? Get out your charge card, or even your Knet card, and get ready to do some delectable damage at some of these cyber stores based in Kuwait:

Click N Buy – It takes a team of 9 people to keep up with the orders at Kuwait’s online IT store ‘Click N Buy’ (www.clicknbuy.com.kw). According to Manager Rajesh Chander Singh, “Having an online business is easier in terms of running, but it requires a lot of work in the backend.” Click N Buy is almost exclusively an IT company. They sell different brands of desktop computers, laptops, printers, scanners, iPods and accessories. They have additional items that are not IT based which include contact lenses, mobile phones and water purifier systems. “We have been open for a year and are still a new company,” offers Singh, “we sell exclusively to people living in Kuwait and average about 10,000 hits a month.” In an attempt to keep customers interested Click N Buy plans to offer several more items in the future such as watches, perfumes and handbags. They also plan to extend their ‘cyber-dom’ to include other GCC States. In addition to the cyber store they are taking on a new venture which is a website that will help users create their own sleek website in 10 minutes flat! So, keep an eye out for www.w3monster.com. Click N Buy accepts major credit cards as well as Knet. And they boast the lowest prices for IT products and services anywhere in Kuwait. Delivery is free for orders with a minimum balance of 10KD. And you can expect to receive your purchase within 24 hours of ordering! They also accept trade-ins for old laptops and offer IT rentals. And as if it could get any better there is even a discussion forum for customers!