VaVaVoom, a concept that brings together the most exclusive and innovative international brands from the world of fragrance, color and skincare — all within one store, opened at Hera’a International Market in Jeddah last week. The store, described as the “ultimate beauty experience,” showcases a variety of premium cosmetic houses and new exclusive beauty brands. “A team of beauty consultants is on hand to give advice and ensure that consumers get the perfect products for their individual skincare, hair and makeup requirements,” Mark Koprowski, procurement and marketing manager, Debenhams Cosmetics & Vavavoom, of Kuwait-based M.H. Alshaya Co. WLL, said. Lester Dedman, business manager of Alshaya company for Debenhams Cosmetics and Vavavoom, formally inaugurated the store, which is Alshaya International Trading Company’s first VaVaVoom beauty store in the Kingdom and second in the Middle East. The first exists in Kuwait since January 2003. Alshaya is a retail company and the franchisee for 37 international retail brands including Debenhams, Mothercare, Next, Mac, Claires and Starbucks Coffee.
DHL
DHL’s current promotion on its Impex service focuses on heavyweight shipments that can be delivered as fast as documents and parcels. “Over an extended period of time, we’ve observed a steady increase in the number of companies in the Kingdom using our services to bring in really heavy items, such as machinery and industrial equipment, which is contributing to a very encouraging annual growth rate of more than 20 percent,” said Paul Chader, national marketing manager for DHL Saudi Arabia. “With a worldwide logistics network at our command, we’re literally able to take a great load off our customers’ minds by offering them an all-inclusive door-to-door pickup and delivery service.” Impex — Import Express — is a simple and cost-effective importing solution for the importer. A local call ensures direct pickup from point of origin and the shipment is monitored at all key stages of its journey using advanced technology, while customers can track consignments at any given time via SMS, email, DHL website, or by calling the customer services department. Its inbound door-to-door service has become a convenient and all-inclusive priced service to many companies in the Kingdom.
DDB Worldwide
DDB Worldwide has for the second time won Advertising Age Magazine’s “global agency network of the year” award and for the first time Adweek magazine’s global agency network of the year’s award. The first time it received Advertising Age Magazine’s award was for 1997. These awards follow DDB’s selection as “network of the year” by Clios in May and recognition of DDB US as No. 1 ranked agency in qualities clients most desire, awarded by international marketing consultancy Ballester in July. “DDB won more than $1 billion in new business in a difficult year, kept a high creative profile and continued to manage a smooth transition from longtime leader Keith Reinhard to Ken Kaess. But the most decisive factor is DDB’s relentless quest to broaden its role beyond traditional media,” Advertising Age wrote in choosing DDB. Adweek said: “In a challenging environment, DDB’s worldwide network hummed with that kind of opportunity-meets-preparedness in 2003. Wins across three continents helped the agency grow worldwide billings by $1 billion, or five percent, to an estimated $21 billion. Revenue also grew five percent, to an estimated $2.7 billion.
Wella
In the past bright and extravagant combinations of color were the norms. Fashion was loud and so was hair, as the leading hair care expert, Wella, was part of this colorful world. Today a totally new palette of colors emerges with the arrival of Wella’s new Koleston Kit “Fascinating Browns.” As the trendsetter in color, the kit combines the most beautiful and fascinating shades of brown to create the color trend of the year. These new brown tones from the kit are opening up a whole new world of hair color to the fashion-conscious woman. The kit creates incomparable color highlights in every hair type, leaving the hair with a deep, rich shine. The result is brilliant color and a beautiful sheen with striking reflections of light - elegant yet extravagant. Never before has brown been as flattering as it is today. The new kit combines exclusive shades of color with continuous care. The creamy formula contains selected color pigments responsible for the long-lasting color as well as the glamorous shine. Selected almond extracts, D-panthenol and vitamin E nourish and condition the hair. These ingredients moisturize and give hair a healthy and sleek texture, further emphasizing the striking color.
Le Meridien Hotels
Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts, in conjunction with its Middle East and West Asia regional sales office, will conduct a sales blitz in the Kingdom from May 29 to June 4. The international chain has summoned 20 of its luxurious hotels from different countries to participate in its biggest marketing campaign in the second quarter of the year, in its bid to maximize coverage of the Middle Eastern region and increase cooperation with local travel agencies, a spokesman for the chain said in Jeddah. Representatives of each hotel will visit Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, and workshops will take place in each sponsoring region followed by awarding of certificates to the participating companies.
Panasonic Digital
Mohammad Omar Al-Esayi’s Electronics Company Ltd., Kingdom-wide agent for Panasonic products, inaugurated the latest developed series of 3CCD digital video cameras, in addition to two other groups of LUMIX and D-SNAP cameras. Majeed Majbour, marketing manager of Al-Esayi audio and visual systems/machines, said that 3CCD digital video cameras enable still pictures to be taken that are more accurate, of higher resolution and with stronger lenses for zoom or closer pictures. “Al-Esayi Co. provides camera products targeting younger age groups who seek higher resolutions that are more developed and have a distinguished appearance as well as audio and visual effects,” Majbour said. He also pointed out that the company had not seen evidence of any duplicate or copy versions of digital cameras. However, losses resulting from duplicate/copy Panasonic systems/machines for musical recording are estimated to run into several thousand riyals. Furthermore, mixers and recording machines/systems are on top of the list of electrical products copied/duplicated by Asian countries.
Farley’s Rusks
Farley’s Rusks aired its latest promotion “Farley’s healthy baby radio show” on MBC FM in Saudi Arabia for eight weeks recently. “It was a great success as the shelf pickup increased tremendously,” Muhammad Al-Tayeb, country manager, Heinz, said. Both Rusks and the cereal categories benefited from the promotion. Winner of the show’s mega prize announced live on MBC FM at the end of the promotion was Meteb Al-Howdali of Makkah. He won a three-night stay at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai as a package for a family of four from Emirates Holidays. The prize was the climax to a two-month long promotion where listeners were given a daily opportunity to win SR1,000 worth of vouchers from Mothercare plus a Farley’s gift hamper by answering a question related to Farley’s or infant nutrition. The response to the quiz show “Sabahakom Ward” presented by Khatija Al-Waal was “phenomenal”. There were hundreds of phone calls out of which 20 were taken off air. All callers, including the daily winners, who had correctly answered the daily question were entered in the mega draw. Mega prize is inclusive of the roundtrip fare, airport transfers in Dubai plus a daily breakfast and a memorable sightseeing tour of the city.
Jeddah Marriott
Jeddah Marriott Hotel, with Wael Soueid as new general manager, has been given a facelift. “By unveiling a new look, the hotel enters into a new era for business travelers,” says Soueid. “We’re proud to present a new product to all our guests who proved their loyalty by staying with us during the renovation period.” Its new lobby with a sky-colored dome and spectacular timeless beauty of marble presents a Middle-Eastern ambience. Its new Atrium Cafe offers a variety of coffee and snacks to suite all tastes. The completely renovated hotel now offers spacious deluxe rooms and business and royal suites with a new bedding concept. Also available are state-of-the-art meeting and conference rooms for up to 200 persons, equipped with the latest audiovisual technology. Its business center features all necessary tools to meet the requirements of today’s travelers, including high-speed Internet access and meeting space for 10 persons.