The Execution Advantage: Max Fashion CEO Hani Weiss On Building Retail Resilience In An Uncertain Market

For retailers operating across the MENA, the current business environment is being shaped by several forces at once. Geopolitical tensions are creating pressure across supply chains and logistics networks, consumers across the region are becoming increasingly deliberate in their purchasing decisions, and competition in the market continues to intensify. Against this backdrop, retailers are being challenged not only to respond to disruption but to do so while maintaining consistency for customers. 

Hani Weiss, CEO of Max Fashion, has been in a front-row seat to the forces reshaping retail across the MENA region. Part of the Dubai-headquartered Landmark Group, Max has grown into one of the region's largest value-fashion retailers, operating hundreds of stores across the MENA and Asia. Built around a proposition centered on affordable fashion and everyday essentials, the brand serves millions of customers across diverse markets, which gives Weiss a broad view of how consumer preferences and retail dynamics are evolving across the region. 

"The current environment has added pressure across supply chains and pricing, but our priority has been to respond proactively and decisively,” Weiss told Inc. Arabia. “In situations like this, overcorrection can create more disruption than the challenge itself. Operating at scale across multiple markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia means we are continuously managing complexity across sourcing, logistics, and demand patterns. That scale also gives us resilience, allowing us to rebalance inventory, adjust flows, and respond quickly as conditions evolve.” 

A Max storefront.

According to Weiss, much of that work takes place away from the customer-facing side of the business, with the objective being to preserve reliability regardless of what the external conditions may be. "Our focus has been on strengthening execution behind the scenes,” he explained. "We are closely monitoring inventory, prioritizing the categories customers rely on most consistently, and further tightening coordination across merchandising, supply chain, and e-commerce. This includes adjusting routing, lead times, and stock positioning, while maintaining strong discipline on pricing and promotions to protect customer value. What this period reinforces is that customers experience supply chain pressure in very practical terms, such as availability, delivery, and service. Our job is to absorb as much of that volatility as possible internally, so that the customer experience remains consistent and dependable.” 

But such operational adjustments are a reflection of how Weiss and his team at Max have prepared themselves for scenarios like these. "This is not the first period of volatility I have seen in this region, and one of the clearest lessons over time is how critical operational agility is to sustain competitiveness,” Weiss shared. “Markets will always move in cycles, whether driven by geopolitics, economic shifts, or changes in consumer behavior, but the differentiator is how quickly a business can adapt. Agility is less about dramatic pivots and more about having strong fundamentals in place, so that you can respond decisively. That means staying close to demand, maintaining visibility across inventory and supply chains, and ensuring teams are aligned to act quickly as conditions change. At the heart of this agility is our people. In periods of uncertainty, it is the clarity, ownership, and collaboration across teams that enable fast and effective decisions. Building that culture is as important as any process or system. Periods like this ultimately test execution. The retailers that outperform are the ones that can make adjustments, while keeping the customer experience stable and predictable." 

That agility, however, is only one side of the equation. As businesses adapt to disruption in the MENA, they must also respond to changing customer expectations. And with shoppers in the region increasingly prioritizing practicality, reliability, and long-term value, Weiss noted that it creates opportunities for retailers like his, which have built their propositions around such attributes. "For Max, adapting to these trends has meant focusing on what customers genuinely rely on,” Weiss said. “As a leading value fashion retailer in the region, we see this shift not as a challenge, but as a validation of our core proposition. Customers are moving toward what we have consistently stood for: dependable value, rather than short-term price-led choices. Our product strategy places greater emphasis on core basics, everyday essentials, and high-utility categories, supported by consistent quality and reliable sizing and fit. Customers remain price-conscious, but they are much less willing to compromise on consistency or experience. From a brand perspective, value is not just about affordability, but about confidence. Confidence that products will be available, that quality will be dependable, and that the experience will be simple and predictable across stores and online. This requires disciplined inventory planning, closer alignment between product, supply chain and merchandising teams, and clarity in how we deliver and communicate value. In a market where consumers are more deliberate, winning trust matters more than chasing short-term trends."

A scene from inside a Max store.

That renewed focus on value is also reshaping the competitive landscape. Earlier this year, Primark, the Ireland-headquartered retailer that has grown into one of Europe's largest value-fashion businesses, made its UAE debut, bringing one of the sector's biggest international players into the regional market. While the arrival of such an established brand has definitely intensified competition within the value fashion segment, Weiss argued that sustained success depends on far more than initial buzz. "It is natural for a new market entry to generate attention, particularly when it comes from a well-known international name, and some of that momentum is always driven by initial curiosity and novelty,” he said. “Over time, however, the market becomes very clear about what is sustainable and what is not. While new entrants bring energy to the market, long-term success in this region comes from deep local understanding and consistent execution, areas where we have built strong capabilities over many years." 

From Weiss’s vantage point, the distinction between short-lived attention and lasting market position ultimately comes down to a retailer's ability to build relevance over time. "In the Middle East, demand for value fashion is shaped by how well a retailer understands its customer, and how consistently it can deliver day in and day out,” he said. “Factors such as availability, reliability, product relevance, and the ability to operate effectively across diverse markets matter far more over time than the initial excitement around a launch. Retailers that succeed are those that combine affordability with disciplined execution, ensuring the right product is in the right place, maintaining pricing discipline, and delivering a seamless experience across both stores and digital channels." 

Delivering that consistency, Weiss argued, ultimately depends on how a retailer is built behind the scenes. "One of the biggest lessons from Max’s journey is that resilience and scale come from getting the fundamentals right before you need them,” he shared. “At Max, omnichannel is not a channel strategy; it is how we run the business. Stores, e-commerce, and supply chain operate as one integrated ecosystem, allowing us to serve customers consistently regardless of how they choose to shop. This integration becomes even more critical in volatile environments where speed, availability, and flexibility directly impact customer trust." 

A Max storefront.

Weiss noted that such an approach extends beyond technology and infrastructure to also the way decisions are made across the organization, and how teams are equipped to respond to changing circumstances. "From a practical perspective, it starts with staying close to the customer and the data,” he explained. “Clear visibility on demand, inventory, and fulfillment enables teams to make informed decisions quickly, rather than reacting too late. It also requires strong alignment across product, supply chain, stores, and digital teams, so that decisions in one part of the business do not create friction elsewhere. Cultivating a culture of agility is less about asking teams to move faster and more about giving them clarity. Teams need clear priorities, simple decision frameworks, and the confidence to act without waiting for perfect information. For leaders, the role is to set direction, remove obstacles, and ensure the organization remains focused on what matters most. When teams feel trusted and supported, agility becomes part of how the business operates every day, rather than something reserved for moments of disruption." 

At the end of the day, even as the retail landscape continues to evolve, Weiss said that Max shall continue building on the principles that have shaped the business to date. "Looking ahead, our focus remains clear,” Weiss said. “We will continue to scale responsibly across our markets, strengthen our value proposition, and deliver a consistent and dependable experience to customers wherever they engage with the brand.”

Pictured in the lead image is Max Fashion CEO Hani Weiss. All images are courtesy Max Fashion.