Wealthy Angolans Splurge in Lisbons Fashion Boutiques

 The Economist says. recently stated that Angola is Africa's widest growing Economy and well..by the way their women...we believe it!Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon’s priciest street...is where they're most likely to be spotted

It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to see that Avenida da Liberdade is not for the average man in the street. This elegant, Paris-inspired avenue is littered with luxury brands including Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Longchamp, Burberry and Gucci.

At Longchamp, saleswoman Ines speaks openly about her national and foreign customers: “During summer, around 30 percent of our clients are Angolan. Only half are Portuguese.”
Her colleague Vera adds that Angolans usually buy “huge amounts” at the same time. “Often buy shiploads. They want the most expensive bags we have.”

Confidential list

Burberry has a confidential list of its ten most important groups of customers, ranked by nationality. “The Angolans, twenty percent of our customers, are number one,” Burberry marketing manager Vasco Miguens says. “Half of the shops’ clients here have been foreign, many of them Angolan, since Avenida da Liberdade became a shopping street 15 years ago”. “Angolans shop here because our products aren’t sold in Angola, because of the strong ties between our two countries and because airline TAP flies directly from Luanda to Lisbon.”

The Angolan super elite shops in London and Paris, he says. “We get our products with one or two weeks delay.”Nevertheless, Burberry has a number of “top clients”. “They buy on a basis of exclusivity, after closing time. Some of them are well-known.”

Independent
All managers at Avenida da Liberdade deny that their shop would not survive Portugal’s economic crisis without their Angolan clients. The reason, they say, is that they represent such “strong brands”. For an outsider that can be hard to believe.

A staggering 40 percent of Hugo Boss’ clients are Angolan in July and November, according to shop manager Hugo Oliveira. “On an annual basis around 20 percent. Most of them are regular customers. Some order their clothes from their hotel, meaning we deliver them at their doorstep.”

Roughly 30 percent of Loewe’s clients are Angolan all year round. Again, only half are Portuguese. “Some of our Angolan clients are famous,” a saleswoman who prefers to stay anonymous says. Her unease is increasingly obvious. “We see quite a few politicians here. But I won’t give you their names.”

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