Shop till you drop and then head for a manicure

With Toni&Guy Pond’s Skin Centre, Dolmen City Mall sees its first salon.

KARACHI:

Dolmen City Mall Clifton just keeps getting better. If you thought the stalls at the food court and high-street fashion stores were the only highlights, think again. Now, while you shop and chit-chat with your friends, you can make your way for a quick manicure or blow dry to Toni&Guy, the mall’s first salon, that opened its doors with a launch party on Monday.

The driving force behind Toni&Guy in Karachi is Saeeda Mandviwalla, who opened her first flagship salon offering full services, a retail shop, a café and an art corner. Since the brand is recognised worldwide for its upscale services, it didn’t take long for Pakistanis to enjoy the luxury salon despite its higher price list.

On Monday, Mandviwalla and Ponds’s joined hands to open a salon and skin centre that promises to give solutions for hair, nails, and skin.

For the launch event, the first floor lobby of the mall (right next to Mango and Monsoon) looked festive; black-and-white striped settee benches along with matching table covers and bright red sofa sets made for comfortable seating. The beautiful fresh flowers kept as centre pieces on tables added a wonderful touch. Guests were treated to mini burgers, bite-sized club sandwiches, little fruit tarts, and chocolate cupcakes along with coffee and tea.

When the lobby was bursting with guests, including friends, family and the media fraternity, Mandviwalla opened the press conference by speaking about how proud she is of her new branch. “We have been in the forefront providing the best hair treatment in town and I am extremely proud of this achievement,” she said. “Toni&Guy is joining hands with Pond’s to give consumers in Pakistan the ultimate experience in hair and skin care treatment.”

The chairman of Unilever Pakistan Ehsan Malik expressed his excitement for the new project. “Unilever is a multi-national company that has the global know-how,” he said. “With this new collaborative venture we look forward to enhancing our market.”



The joint venture between Toni&Guy and Ponds will offer hair, nail, and skin solutions. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/ EXPRESS

British Deputy High Commissioner Francis Campbell was also present at the event. “We have two very interesting companies joining hands; Unilever being the oldest British company and Toni&Guy — the youngest hair treatment company,” Campbell said. “Dolmen Mall really has the potential for investment.”

State Minister of Finance Saleem Mandviwalla talked about the increase in foreign business investments that is taking place in Pakistan. He said that British brands Shell, Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank are already present in Pakistan, but that new foreign investors are also making their way in.

Campbell feels that if anyone visits Dolmen Mall from abroad, their perception of Pakistan will surely change. “We [the UK] are the second biggest investors in Pakistan. This mall looks like we are in Oxford Street, London,” said Campbell. He also acknowledged that a number of people are getting employed by this new venture, and that the growing employment opportunities presented by the mall were “fantastic”.

While guests mingled and inquired about services and prices, singer Alamgir — looking handsome in a black shalwar kameez with a grey jacket — posed with fans for pictures.

The jubilant Saeeda Mandviwalla also expressed her joy and gratitude. “This will be a perfect place for grooming. I hope it raises the bar in the local salons based here and makes us all lift to global specifications, along with promoting a soft image of the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2012.          

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