Elli Junior: Dubai’s home-grown success story

Dubai — The notable rise in SME businesses in Dubai has become quite evident in the past few years, mainly due to Dubai’s government strategy of supporting this sector as main lifeline for its economy. This become more palpable in 2020 with the Covid-19 impact on all big size businesses, prompting an increase in new smaller companies emerging. The Dubai Economic Department reported an 86 per cent increase year-on-year in the first six months of 2020.    

The success stories of home-grown brands are many.

As every great brand, Dubai-based Elli Junior was created out of necessity, vision and self-motivation. When Elli Kasbi had her firstborn, she started looking for baby clothes, baby products and baby toys.

But coming from Sweden, where quality is a way of life, the aspiring entrepreneur didn’t find what she would deem best for her child in terms of quality and diversity, Hence, Elli Junior was created to fill this gap in UAE market for children between the ages of zero to four years old.

Going strong in its fourth year now, Elli Junior recently opened its first store within Galeries Lafayette in The Dubai Mall, thus introducing some of the best European brands to a thirsty audience here in UAE.

“In these challenging times, we are lucky that we are in a city that understands the challenges and provide solutions for startups,” Kasbi said, adding: “Another success factor is the careful choice of products. Diversity, inclusivity, innovation and affordability are key factors for me.”