Alshaya
Careers for Saudi nationals in the retail sector have received a significant boost with an agreement signed between the Alshaya International Trading Company and the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) guaranteeing employment for 400 Saudis, both men and women, at Alshaya retail stores. In another agreement between the two organizations, Saudi nationals from across the Kingdom will be given the chance to develop a private sector career working with some of the world’s most famous brands including H&M, Debenhams, Next and Mothercare. “The announcement comes at a time when retail in the Kingdom continues to grow as an important economic sector,” Alshaya’s Human Resources Services Manager Hisham Al Khaldi said.
Bab Rizq Jameel
Bab Rizq Jameel (BRJ) Vice President Dr. Saad Attiyah Al-Ghamdi opened a franchising project funded by it. Hani Al Zayed, a young Saudi, who is developing the project with five of his colleagues, owns the new franchising business services center, ‘Kwik Kopy’. ‘Kwik Kopy’ offers digital printing, logo design and brochures, company business cards, employee ID cards and stamps, in addition to shipping and document filing services. Hani approached BRJ, an initiative of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programs (ALJCSP) with his business plan, and he received an interest free loan of SR300,000. Meanwhile, Abdul Latif Jameel Company (Toyota) signed an agreement with Nafisa Shams Academy for Arts and Crafts and BRJ, through which 12,000 prayer rugs will be produced. The initiative is aimed at creating new job opportunities for young Saudi females as part of the “Work from Home” program. Issam Nowar, planning and production managing director at Toyota and Suzan Al Shami, GM, Nafisa Shams Academy, signed the deal.
GM
New models from Chevrolet, Cadillac, HUMMER and GMC will spearhead General Motors’ (GM) latest product offensive, marking the arrival of the new 2009 model year line-up and seeing the company’s brands expand into a number of important new market sectors. “Set to reinforce the rapidly growing popularity of the GM brands — Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, HUMMER and Saab — with Middle East car buyers, and backed by the energy and commitment of the dealer network, the new 2009 model year line-up will ensure that GM vehicles offer customers the best value in the market place,” Geoff Thomas, vice chairman of the General Motors Middle East Franchise Board and general manager of National Motor Company, GM’s dealer in Bahrain, said. Arriving in the region before the end of the year, Cadillac is launching its flagship car in the large luxury SUV category, the Escalade Platinum, as well as the fastest production V8 sedan, the CTS-V. HUMMER is set to reveal its second entry in the luxury pick-up segment with the new H3T.
Hilton
Hilton Hotels Corporation has entered into a deal with the Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair Group for Tourism and Development, with the potential to deliver 13 Hilton Garden Inn properties comprising 2,500 rooms. These properties, which will be managed by Hilton, will be at key locations across Saudi Arabia. The first property is anticipated to open in 2009 in Riyadh. The deal marks the entry of the first Hilton Garden Inn, the Hilton family’s focused service brand, in the Middle East and Africa region. Over the next five years, Hilton and Al-Hokair plan to introduce Hilton Garden Inn hotels in other cities. “The full spectrum of Hilton hotels gives us tremendous opportunities for growth in all global markets,” said Jean-Paul Herzog, president, Hilton Hotels, MEA.
Nissan
National Geographic’s “Inside” series recently approached Nissan Motor Company for filming a feature on its legendary Nissan GT-R. The episode covers the development of the supercar from conception to production. National Geographic’s film crew was afforded unprecedented access to Nissan’s design, engineering and manufacturing facilities, along with spending time at the test track and with Nissan’s CEO and Manga-hero, Carlos Ghosn. The 47-minute documentary covers every aspect of the GT-R’s development from concept to actual racing on the test tracks. The multi-performance Nissan GT-R set a production car lap record at the famous Nurburgring in Germany, racing around the Nurburgring circuit where the condition of the most feared high speed corner, “Kesselchen” was wet — with a record time of 7m29s. It can accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 3.6 seconds. “The GT-R was featured in a completely new way,” said Monal Zeidan, GM, marketing and corporate communications at Nissan Middle East.
Tokio Marine
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. of Japan, one of the world’s top 10 international insurers and “world’s largest marine cargo insurer,” co-sponsored a ‘Clean Up UAE 2008’ campaign, an initiative by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), in Dubai yesterday. “Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd., has an extremely dedicated approach toward the environment and therefore we truly value our association with the ‘Clean Up UAE 2008’ campaign even though this is the first time we have supported EEG in its efforts to spread this environmental message,” Keith Byrne, head of underwriting and risk management, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, said. “The ‘Clean Up UAE 2008’ campaign by EEG and its efforts to encourage common people to invest personal time to a social cause syncs well with the corporate practices and ideologies of the organization. In its 7th year now, the campaign has grown considerably attracting participants from all over the country,” he added.
Wadi Tower
The Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, owners of City of Arabia, the $5 billion retail, residential, commercial and entertainment destination lying at the gateway to Dubailand, has appointed Simplex Infrastructures as the main contractor for Wadi Tower, with work set to begin immediately. Simplex Infrastructures won the contract worth in excess of AED168 million against eight other companies based on their experience and competitive proposal. It will employ more than 350 workers at the peak of construction. “We are excited to have Simplex Infrastructures onboard. We are confident with our decision and believe they are a skilled team who will deliver the project at the highest standard level,” Ilyas Galadari, chairman of the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, said. “With works beginning straight away the City of Arabia team is looking forward to seeing the project come to life,” Mustafa Galadari, vice chairman and MD Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, said. “We intend to complete the project by the end of 2010,” Ani Ray, country director of Simplex Infrastructures, said.
emac Ogilvy
Amid the doom and gloom of the current global economic crisis, Memac Ogilvy claims to offer a glimmer of hope for informed marketers: Seize this moment as an opportunity to grow brands and secure future success. “Amid a sense of falling off the cliff, it’s tempting to imagine this recession to be unique — and uniquely bad,” says Edmond I. Moutran, chairman and CEO, Memac Ogilvy, MENA. “However, flight is only one option. History shows many brands and companies have been successfully launched during recessions, while others have leveraged tough economic conditions to gain significant market advantage. At the moment there is a tendency for people simply to ignore the evidence.” In order to inform CEOs, CFOs and CMOs, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide has published a booklet entitled “Optimizing the marketing budget in recession. The booklet offers practical advice about the consequences of cutting, maintaining or increasing marketing expenditure. It draws upon Ogilvy’s understanding of winning during recessionary times and the latest research into best practice.
NCB
A new group of 22 young men and women graduated recently from National Commercial Bank’s (NCB) “How to Start your Own Small Business” course. It was organized in cooperation with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). NCB CEO Abdulkareem Abu Alnasr and JCCI Chairman Saleh Al-Turki honored the graduates. “The NCB strives to help youth accomplish their potential and fulfill their dreams through special programs conducted by the bank’s community service department,” Abu Alnasr said, adding that the bank has helped hundreds of students reach their goals through its facilities and expertise. Al-Turki commended NCB’s training support for youth and said it was a happy augury that the bank as a national financial institution took the initiative to establish a community service department that launched programs to encourage youth to start their own businesses by equipping them with necessary skills.
