ENTRA
College of Business Administration Rector Nadia Baeshen opened an exhibition of women’s Entra bags and accessories at the Lo Mall on the Tahlia Street in Jeddah on Monday, showcasing products of Italian Entra and American OSTM, which are described as famous for quality at reasonable prices. Renato Catania, commercial attaché at the Consulate General of Italy, a large number of invitees including businesswomen were present on the occasion. “Saudi women possess a superb taste for elegance with a clear idea of the latest trends in the world of fashion. This has made fashion shops look for the latest to satisfy the demands of Saudi women,” Baeshen said, expressing her admiration at the elegance of the showcased products that matched all age groups at “unbeatable prices.” Underscoring the strong commercial relations between Saudi Arabia and Italy, Catania said: “Saudi women are fascinated by Italian products because of the high quality that goes with the emerging fashion trends. A large chunk of the Saudi leather market has been taken up by Entra bags after its entry to the Saudi market through its sole distributor in the Middle East over two years ago.” Turki Al-Jazzar, deputy director general of the Osama Al-Jazzar Commercial Establishment, the sole agent of the Entra and OSTM bags, said the opening of the new Jeddah showroom was just the beginning of the company’s expansion plan in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar. The bags are made of Italian natural leather in classical colors. Entra also manufactures women’s purses and belts and also provides after sale services with five-year guarantee on bags. Al-Jazzar also plans to launch new women’s shoes next month, he said.
LONGINES
As the official partner of Roland-Garros, Swiss watchmaker Longines organized a tournament involving 16 boys from all over the world. The Swiss Marco Osmakcic beat the Russian Artem Dubrivny in the final and won the competition. Both young talents were able to play in an exhibition doubles with Andre Agassi and Jim Courier, both former winners of the French Open. Marco Osmakcic and Artem Dubrivny will each receive an annual bursary of $2,000 for their equipment from the Swiss watch making company, whose aim is to encourage their future in the world of tennis. Longines used the occasion to underline its support of disadvantaged children by sponsoring the charity foundations set up by Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, two of its ambassadors of elegance. Longines has invited 16 boys under the age of 13 from every corner of the world to take part in its tournament in Paris. Marco Osmakcic said: “I am so proud to have played with Andre Agassi and Jim Courier and, moreover, I am now wearing the same watch as them. I lived a tremendous day with my victory in the Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament.” Despite his defeat, Arten Dubrivny was delighted to have played with two tennis legends: “It was great to play with Andre Agassi and Jim Courier. I even managed to score a few points against them.” Longines also presented a check for $100,000 to a special delegation of two children from the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas for the foundations run by Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf.
TOYOTA
Toyota Motor Corporation’s (TMC) Bahrain Representative Office announced that production of Toyota and Lexus vehicles and the shipment to the Middle East will start getting normal from June, earlier than originally expected. Commenting on this remarkable turnaround during a meeting held in Dubai with Toyota’s Middle East distributors, Hajime Sakaguchi, TMC’s GM-sales and marketing division for the Middle East and Southwest Asia, said: “The road toward achieving normal production has and will continue to be a tough one but full recovery is expected much sooner than anticipated. Although supply levels were affected in the last two months and our global production level is still below normal, we prioritized the Middle East market and expect to reach full shipping levels much earlier than expected. This is a phenomenal achievement and was only possible due to the tremendous efforts of suppliers.” In response to the positive announcement from TMC, Faisal Abdalla, VP, Abdul Latif Jameel Co., Toyota’s exclusive distributor in Saudi Arabia for more than 50 years, expressed delight and reconfirmed ALJ’s capability and readiness to meet the demands of every Toyota customer. “We really appreciate our guests’ confidence on the Kingdom’s most trusted auto brand and we are very pleased that Toyota has announced the sooner than expected recovery of production, starting June. We have been doing our very best to serve our guests, including the provision of paramount after-sales service.”
DEL MONTE
Del Monte Kenya Ltd. has received commendation for its HIV/AIDS Workplace Program at the 2011 Global Business Coalition (GBC) Business Action on Health Awards. The awards, which are presented by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, recognize the best corporate programs developed to address global health needs. Del Monte Kenya’s program made a final shortlist of nine out of more than 70 programs from companies all over the world nominated to contest the workplace/workforce engagement category under the awards. Gold Fields Ghana Ltd. won the category. The winners received their awards during GBC’s annual conference on June 2 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. The GBC is a non-profit making organization formed to fight HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis and malaria. Its membership is global and it has a local chapter in Kenya. Del Monte Kenya Ltd.’s MD Stergios Gkaliamoutsas welcomed the commendation terming it an endorsement of the company’s success in combating HIV/AIDS under its HIV/AIDS Workplace Program. Del Monte Kenya launched the program in 2001 to create awareness about the disease at a time when the company was losing an average 40 employees per year to the disease. HIV/AIDS prevalence in Thika at the time stood at 37.4 percent. Hesbon Madoya, coordinator of the program, says the Del Monte program was fully integrated into the company’s medical scheme with the company taking overall care of the employees’ welfare both at the workplace and at the community. It also addresses malaria control.
KEC
Knowledge Economic City (KEC) has announced its participation in the three-day Cityscape Jeddah, an international exhibition for real estate investment and development sector in Saudi Arabia, being held at the Jeddah Center for Forums & Events from June 11. At the expo, KEC, will leverage its participation in Cityscape Jeddah to highlight the phase one components — Dar Al Jewar and the achievements in the development process. KEC’s participation in Cityscape will provide a great opportunity for interested visitors to know more about the existing investment opportunities within KEC and how to be engaged as a developer, investor, and operator. KEC will also reveal its first residential community project Dar Al Jewar and future residents can learn more about the community, its components, and the units. Through its online website, KEC is offering an early meeting arrangement for advanced appointments with KEC officials during the duration of the exhibition. Sami Mohsen Baroum, chairman of Knowledge Economic City Company, will present the project’s components, progress, and beyond in a special session on the second day of Cityscape Jeddah Conference (Shining Cities: A review of the economic cities at the forefront of diversification). KEC is aimed to serve Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification strategy through reviving Madinah’s role as a center for Islamic knowledge and culture. Moreover, KEC is envisioned to elevate the holy city’s quality of life and economic prosperity.
