Future Proof: Angela Mullins, owner of Lily Jewellery & Accessories

With its vast wealth from oil and gas, there's not a lot money can't buy in the United Arab Emirates. But one Irish woman has found a chink in the diamond-encrusted armour and has launched her own business.

Forty-one-year-old Angela Mullins from Kildysart, Co Clare, emigrated to Dubai in January, 2009, with her husband, Noel. "Noel works in construction and we knew things were drying up at home, so when a one-year contract came up in Dubai we decided to take it."

Angela left behind more than just family and friends, she also left behind her business Lily Jewellery & Accessories on Loughrea’s Main Street in Galway.

“It was a hard decision to leave after all of that work, but thankfully my sister Edel was willing to take over the shop and I helped her manage it from abroad. We were only supposed to be in Dubai for a year, but when the contracts kept coming for Noel and things weren’t looking up at home, we decided to stay.” Angela spent the next few years raising her now seven-year-old son Harry and had a second boy Tom who’s aged three. But the lure of running her own business never left her, so she decided to see how “Lily” would take to life in the desert.

After doing some groundwork, she officially launched Lily Jewellery Dubai on December 18th. “I saw a big gap in the market here when it came to jewellery. The only choice was either very high-end pieces like Chanel and Gucci, or high street accessories like Topshop and River Island. There was also a lack of gift options. If you wanted to buy a friend a present for between €20 and €40, it wasn’t possible. The packaging was never nice and there was nothing unique about what was on offer.” But as any entrepreneur knows, having a good idea doesn’t mean the hard work stops there. “The next part was challenging. The UAE isn’t like Ireland. A large percentage of the businesses are run by a small percentage of the people and they are very wealthy, so it’s hard to meet them in person. There are also very few boutiques, as chain shops seems to be more popular among the locals. So I approached small businesses like spas, nail bars and hotel gift shops where women would be more likely to shop. I also used all of my contacts in the fashion industry here, as well as the Irish Business Network in Dubai which was very helpful.” Ireland’s relationship with the Middle East was highlighted in January when Taoiseach Enda Kenny toured Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE for five days, securing new contracts and business developments worth millions of euro.

Angela says his visit meant more than just attracting trade to the Irish community in Dubai. “As emigrants it really helped remind us of our relationship with home. If I had the choice I would want to be back in Ireland with my husband and children and run my business there, but I can’t because of the recession. There’s been a huge influx of Irish people here over the past few years and the Irish brand is really strong Having the Taoiseach come here made us feel like we haven’t been forgotten about, and that meant a lot.”

But despite the pull to move back to Ireland, Angela is firmly focusing on Lily’s future in Dubai. “We’ve decided to do things ‘backwards’ this time. Instead of opening a shop because rent is so high here, we’re pouring our money into stock and selling things wholesale straight to business owners where possible. We buy the stock from Paris and about 10 per cent of our sales are online at lilyjewellery.ie. Despite the benefits of the internet I think people still like the touch and feel of their jewellery, so we hope to open a shop in Dubai in 2015.”

Angela says despite the months of legwork needed to get up and running, she would highly recommend a career as a business owner in the Middle East.

“There’s so much potential here, as it’s a young city and is getting more and more popular as a destination to live. There are a lot of goods and services that could be marketed towards the ex-pat community and despite it being a mainly Muslim country, Christmas has started to become more of an event here. It’s also a good time to make a move as Dubai won the contract for the Expo in 2020 last year and there’s a lot of excitement among Emiratis. They feel it’s a way of showing off their state so they are open to new ideas.”