Retelling The Story of Luxury and Women Empowerment with Rania Masri

Retelling The Story of Luxury and Women Empowerment with Rania Masri
Heaven doesn’t exist on Earth – but for shoe lovers, it can be found in Dubai at Level Shoe District. Integral to its creation was Rania Masri, Level Shoes’ empowering female luxury executive, who led the store to becoming a global shopping destination. Under her guidance, Level Shoes quickly turned into the Mecca of luxury footwear. Housing 40 boutiques, a Vogue café, a foot spa, and bespoke footwear services, it is filled with designer staples from Manolo Blahnik to Alexander Wang, as well as trending and local designers.
“I don’t think anyone has been able to execute a stage for shoes like we have,” says Rania. Her pulse on the Middle Eastern luxury market and intuitive understanding of the modern shoe lover have been vital in leading a true, pioneering shopping experience.
In designing the store, Rania Masri’s team placed an emphasis on storytelling, using visual merchandising to its full power. Beautiful, curated spaces get transformed every few months, allowing rediscovery for the Level Shoes community, so they can relive the magic of experiencing a space for the first time on multiple visits.
Behind the glamour and charm, however, stands the strategy and operational efficiency built under Rania Masri’s careful watch. Before Level, Rania had six years of experience at Chalhoub Group, the Middle East luxury goods partner and distributor that owns Level Shoes. In Rania’s career, excellence in leadership is a staple: prior to Level, she headed the group’s Ralph Lauren Middle East operation, playing a key role in the brand’s ambitious and strategic expansion throughout the gulf area.
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Implications of Rania’s achievements go far beyond the luxury goods industry. The world today is redefining what makes an aspirational modern woman, and Rania is at the forefront of that change. She has achieved a successful impact in her business, all while embracing femininity and raising a family with two young girls.
Even outside her family, Rania has been a longtime champion of mentorship and women’s empowerment. For her, mentorship is something personally ingrained. “I get the same sense of pride from seeing the team grow and evolve as I would when I see my daughter go through her milestones,” she says. Culturally, she has also helped create something Dubai feels pride towards, empowering not only herself and the women around her, but an entire country. Her work and life have truly been powerful.
After five years at Level, Rania Masri was chosen to be the Chief Transformation Officer of Chalhoub Group, leading their digital transformation initiative, Shift. It’s a perfect fit – she did, after all, manage to successfully lead a shoe store almost twice the size of the White House, when traditional luxury distributors were continuing to downsize and retreat online. As a luxury industry leader, female executive, mentor, wife, and mother, Rania Masri is an influential woman to watch – the world will be waiting to see what she achieves next.
Words by Yuki Yang
All Photos via Rania Masri Instagram