First Multi-Category IQOS Boutique Opens in UAE, Reinforcing Its Role as a Strategic Hub for Smoke-Free Transformation

Opening also marks grand reveal of bespoke artistic collaboration with renowned local artist, Kris Balerite.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – September 23, 2025

The GCC’s first multi-category IQOS Boutique has opened in Dubai. The launch underscores the UAE’s role as a strategic hub for PMI’s global smoke-free transformation, reflecting the country’s position as a center for innovation, design, and consumer experience for legal aged nicotine users.

The new IQOS boutique reimagines the retail environment as an immersive, multisensory journey. The concept moves beyond transactional retail, creating a discovery-led space where legal age consumers can explore Philip Morris International’s (PMI) growing smoke-free portfolio in an engaging, personalized, and sustainable way.

For the first time, the boutique will also feature an exclusive art piece designed in collaboration with famed local artist, Kris Balerite – otherwise known as Dozign. Known for his pioneering street art in Dubai and a co-founder in acclaimed festival, Sole DXB, the artist’s bespoke piece “The Thread” is a striking symbol of community and connection.

The dynamic piece takes the form of a giant friendship bracelet woven with sadu-inspired patterns, a traditional textile design that has become part of the region’s cultural fabric. It draws from the iconography that tourists have photographed, that locals have grown up with, and that expats have come to associate with comfort and hospitality.

Beyond its cultural references, “The Thread” is a tribute to the UAE’s social fabric; the piece embodies the values of connection, openness, and friendship that define life in the Emirates. As Kris Balerite reflects, “I often observe people in the UAE, different languages, different cultures, different stories, yet somehow moving in harmony.” This observation inspired the artwork’s concept: threads in a single fabric, each unique in color and origin, yet tightly woven together to form something beautiful and whole.”

Richa Rustagi, Managing Director of Lower Gulf & Iraq at PMI, commented: “The UAE has established itself as a hub for innovation and forward-thinking experiences, making it a natural choice for the first multi-category boutique in the region operated by the authorised distributor. This opening underlines the UAE’s strategic importance in PMI’s global smoke-free journey and demonstrates the commitment to providing adult smokers, who would otherwise continue smoking, with smoke-free alternatives that while not risk free are less harmful than continued smoking.”

Saim Yasin, Director of Smoke-Free Products Middle East at PMI, added: “This new boutique marks an important milestone that reflects the scale of PMI’s investment in science and innovation. It builds on more than a decade of research, development, and design to deliver better alternatives for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke.”

The Dubai opening follows successful launches of multi-category IQOS boutiques in other countries around the world, reinforcing PMI’s ambition to transform retail into an experience-led, engagement-driven platform for our customers.

The boutique is now open at Dubai Mall, inviting adult nicotine users and smokers who would otherwise continue smoking to explore the collaboration and the wide range of smoke-free alternatives.