Australian fashion brand Jeanswest has entered the United Arab Emirates market with the opening of its first physical store in Dubai this August.

The move follows the company’s collapse in March, which resulted in the closure of all of its 87 Australian stores.

The Dubai opening marks a return to brick-and-mortar retail, reflecting the brand’s strategic shift into the growing Middle Eastern retail market.

“Our goal is not just to sell products,” the company said in a statement.

“We aim to create an authentic, personalised experience that resonates with the tastes of local customers.

“The new store in Dubai marks only the beginning of a fresh approach to the Middle Eastern market, a market that can no longer be overlooked or treated as secondary.”

Founded in Perth in the late 1970s, Jeanswest has operated for more than five decades in the apparel industry. The brand established itself in Oceania with casual and smart-casual clothing and developed a customer base among young people and families.

The company was placed in voluntary administration in March of this year, owing approximately AU$17 million (US$11.2 million), with the majority of creditors receiving two cents in the dollar after the sale of stock in a liquidation sale.

After agreeing with its creditors, control of the company was handed back to its directors, who subsequently decided to explore offshore opportunities.