Rania Masri El Khatib warns: “Brands without purpose are really lost”

Giving Movement CEO Rania Masri El Khatib is steering a Dubai-born fashion brand that has turned purpose and community into measurable brand equity. In a fireside chat at Arabian Business’ The Briefing event, she put a stake in the ground with one line: “I inherited a strong brand, a purpose-led business and a community. Nowadays, brands without purpose are really lost.”

If you are a founder, investor, or executive trying to build demand that lasts, that statement is more than philosophy. El Khatib argued that the brand’s greatest asset is not its products, but the community behind them. She connected that belief to customer loyalty, saying that “a community is built on common values and common ethos,” and when people feel they belong, “the relationship stops being transactional and becomes emotional.”

So how does a hoodie and a mission become an actual scaling engine? El Khatib traced The Giving Movement’s rise to its origins during the Covid-19 pandemic. The brand “rapidly built a following” by focusing on sustainability, philanthropy, and accessible luxury, which is a specific combo in a category where many players compete on price, aesthetics, or trend cycles. She also challenged a common industry habit: when fashion brands talk about community, she thinks the difference is whether it is real shared values or just marketing campaigns.

The second-order implication for leadership is that “community” is not a slogan you paste onto a campaign calendar. El Khatib’s definition is operational. It is about consistency in what you stand for, not a temporary push for sales. She drove the point home with the practical reality of category competition: “Anybody can make a good hoodie nowadays,” she said. The Giving Movement’s advantage is tied to what the brand represents, not the stitch count or the fabric blend alone.

She also described travel as a surprisingly powerful growth lever for a lifestyle brand. The Giving Movement launched in a period when consumers were seeking connection and comfort, and it benefited from the post-pandemic surge in travel. In her words, “You see people wearing The Giving Movement in airports around the world,” and it became “part of that travel narrative.” That matters because it reframes fashion distribution and brand visibility. Instead of only chasing traditional retail footfall, the brand’s story travels with consumers, turning everyday mobility into a rolling storefront.

Leadership during uncertainty came up next, and El Khatib made it clear her first year as CEO was shaped by resilience. She said it drew on lessons from prior economic crises, including the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic. More recently, “regional challenges forced the company to temporarily shift priorities away from expansion and focus instead on strengthening its foundations.” Translation: the brand had “a bold vision,” but had to make sure it focused on “our people, our organisation and our community first.” For executives, this is a reminder that growth plans are often conditional. When conditions tighten, the playbook changes from scaling externally to proving internal readiness.

El Khatib, a former chief transformation officer at Chalhoub Group, also emphasized operational discipline and organisational readiness as the brand enters its next phase. She said the company has opportunities, but she does not frame them as primarily a Western export problem. Despite international interest, she argued that “we have not even scratched the surface of the MENA region yet.” Her expectation is a staged approach: over the next three to five years, deepen presence across the Middle East and neighbouring markets before pursuing broader international ambitions.

There is an even bigger storyline underneath her comments. El Khatib positioned The Giving Movement as a symbol of what she sees as a broader shift in the UAE’s ability to create globally relevant consumer brands. “We spent years importing brands,” she said. “Now we have the opportunity to build brands from this region and take them to the world.” That is not just a mission statement. It is a strategic framing for decision-makers: if your brand lacks purpose, you might survive a season, but you will struggle to earn the loyalty that reduces churn and makes expansion easier. If your brand has purpose, community, and a foundation built for uncertainty, you are better positioned to scale from local momentum to international relevance.

For peers watching the same market reality, her message is clean. Purpose is not decoration, travel can be a distribution channel in disguise, and uncertainty is when disciplined foundations win. Or as El Khatib’s warning suggests: in a crowded fashion landscape, brands that do not know why they exist may look busy, but they are “really lost.”