Category Archives: middle east countries

What will be the 10 new malls coming to the Middle East? Here they are!

Cairo Festival Centre is one of the new retail developments in the pipeline.

Major retail complexes in countries including the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon are among new shopping malls set to open in the Middle East over the next three years.

From the new Fujairah City Centre mall in the UAE to Muscat’s Grand Mall in Oman, each promises to offer the region’s consumers a vast array of shopping, restaurant and entertainment amenities.

Among the major new developments are Al Futtaim Group’s US$1.65bn Doha Festival City, slated for completion in 2014, which will feature well-known retail names including Toys R Us and Marks & Spencer. The complex will cover 433,847sqm and includes parking for 8,500 vehicles.

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Despite missing its initial delivery date of 2011, the 235,000 sqm Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi has signed up a number of heavyweight retail partners, including the Landmark Group, Dubai Holding Group and Liwa Trading.

While the economic situation may be faltering, consumers’ retail appetites are not, it would seem

via Revealed: 10 new malls coming to the Middle East – Retail – ArabianBusiness.com.

Gulfood, THE Food and Hospitality Event in Middle East

Held in Dubai, Gulfood is perhaps the best trade show available for those in the food and hospitality sector looking to invest in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

Held from 19th to 22nd February, Gulfood takes place in Dubai, at the International Convention and Exhibition Centre. One of the largest and most-awaited events that concerns the foodservice and hospitality sectors in the Middle East, it showcases products, equipment and an array of specialist services. Covering the whole food and drink gamut, it also features printing, packaging, baking and the raw materials sector too.

Around 3,800 exhibitors will be taking part in Gulfood, from around 83 countries of origin. This gives Gulfood not only a distinctly Eastern feel, but also an international one too. With over 62,000 buyers from 110 countries present, it is a vast place in which to do business. 81 international pavilions showcase each of the countries’ best food, flavours, foodservice and hospitality sectors in great detail, so you can be sure of leaving with the knowledge or deals you set out to acquire.

Also on the table is the Gulfood Conference, which takes the best the industry has to offer and invites key industry experts to speak on hot topics and international concerns. Speakers this year include Yousuff Ali, Managing Director of Emke Group Lulu International, Eelco Camminga, the Vice President for South Africa, Middle East and Pakistan for Unilever and Sanjeev Chadha, the President for the Middle East and Africa for Pepsico.

Gulfood also aims to celebrate the success of those within the industry, the Gulfood Awards recognise excellence, so are a great indicator for the areas of taste and interest in the world of food and drink. The enormously popular Emirates International Salon Culinaire returns to demonstrate the skills of more than 1,300 young chefs as they compete to become stars of the future. Competitors are evaluated by a panel of 25 experts, mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies to judge events across the globe, ensuring high competition standards. In another competitive element to Gulfood, the Pastry and Baking Salon is a platform for showcasing professional Pastry Chefs across the UAE and GCC region. The competition is open to all pastry chefs and bakers working in the UAE/GCC, to compete in static display and live baking across twelve categories. Ingredients Middle East runs concurrently with the show, creating a 360-degree industry offering for buyers and vendors. Ingredients Middle East is the only event in the region to address the manufacturing and processing sector.

This year’s exhibition should be one to remember, with four days to explore the delights on offer, you should leave having gained a real insight into not only the way business is done in the East, but also what other countries have to offer.

via Food and Drink International.

2012 top trends to dominate Middle East hotel sector

Ten leading hoteliers present the top 10 industry trends expected to dominate the Middle East hotel sector in 2012

1. M-commerce
“Rapid advancements in travel technology are on the cards, especially mobile bookings which has opened a whole new world. According to industry sources 18% of mobile users are expected to make bookings using their smart devices.”Michel Noblet, President & CEO, HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings

2. Influence of consumer ratings
“Websites such as Trip Advisor will continue to push hotels to become better attuned to customer’s needs. It is no longer about what we say about ourselves in a brochure that maters, it is what our reviewers say. We need to listen to our guests and even though not every review can be positive, hotels need to acknowledge issues and work to fix them.”Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President and CEO of Millennium & Copthorne, Middle East and Africa.

3. Digital booking
“Online booking will be another top trend. Our hotels will heavily switch to the online channel. Potential and existing clients are becoming tech-savvy experts. They know what they want, and are far more sophisticated in what they are looking for, easily accessing information about our hotels through digital tools. Thus, our key priority area is to be on top of the latest online tools and aggressively develop our digital services and presence: from mobile apps to E-Marketing, to our loyalty program, Le Club Accorhotels.”Christophe Landais, managing director, Accor Middle East

4. Growth of the mid-market

We think it will be a bit of a return to 2009 in 2012. In light of the economic instability in Europe I think added value packages will once again become very attractive. This instability will help grow another trend, mid-market hotels. I predict this will continue to grow in the region throughout 2012, especially the clearly defined brands within the mid-market segment.Marko Hytonen, Area Vice President, The Rezidor Hotel Group

5. Emergence of new brands

“I believe we will see the introduction and growth of brands that are new to the region, brands such as Hotel Indigo. We are yet to bring Hotel Indigo to this part of the world, but following the success of the brand elsewhere we expect to announce our first property early next year. The growth of our Staybridge Suites brand will also continue and this helps us cater for the needs of the long stay guest.”John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East & Africa, InterContinental Hotels Group

6. Spa and wellness

“Spas are becoming important to both the leisure and business traveler. Nowadays, they are a necessity rather than a luxury, just as a health and fitness club is today, as more and more people seem to be looking seriously at their personal health and well being. Rotana has introduced spa facilities to many of its properties following extensive research into the desires and needs of guests. The direction we are going is to include a Spa in each of our 5 star Resorts & Hotels.”Selim El Zyr, president and CEO, Rotana Hotels

7. Talent and training

“The battle for talent is a real one compounded by the complexities of the need to engage countries very real needs to immerse their own workforce in our industry” Jeff Strachan, vice president – sales and marketing, MEA, Marriott

8. Rise of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) travellers 
“These emerging economies are slowly but surely making their mark as strong source markets as well as development markets. Hilton has recognised this and, with particular regard to China, launched an initiative in 2011 called Hilton Huanying — a tailored experience for all travellers of Chinese origin. Inspired by the Chinese word for ‘welcome’, the programme enables visitors to book Hilton hotels with confidence knowing the properties will meet their cultural needs and expectations. These include, front desk team member fluent in Chinese, tea kettles, dedicated Chinese broadcasting channel on TV, welcome letter in Chinese and chinese tea available in the bedrooms. We also provide special Chinese dishes at breakfast. Over 50 hotels in the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio have signed up to the programme.”Rudi Jagersbacher, President, Hilton Worldwide, Middle East & Africa

9. Bargain hunters
“One of the most important trends is the very short lead of advance booking. This can be attributed to the availability of airline capacity to specific destinations which in turn relaxes customers urgency for advanced booking and allows guests the opportunity to search for last minute bargains. Guests are looking for added-value. In terms of preferences and behaviour patterns, travellers are still taking vacations and travelling widely but they demand extra value for money more than before. They are still looking for quality of service and personalized experiences but added value is a key factor while selecting their accommodations.”Gerard Hotelier, Vice President Operations- Middle East, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts

10. Social media
“Social media creates opportunities never envisioned before. It influences how you are positioned on google, your reputation can be damaged or enhanced within a blink of an eye, social commerce is coming, and all this is going mobile. It is a revolution for the hotel industry, and it is just the beginning. Said that, as a company you have to wonder how to invest and how much. The ROI is still not clear, and there is a RISK on spending too much.” Sami Nasser, SVP, Sofitel Middle East and Indian Ocean 

Via http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Healthy meals for more active students thanks to an Abu Dhabi cafe’s initiavite

Alexander Clavel, managing director and founder of the Federal Restaurant Corporation which runs Mirabel cafe in Abu Dhabi has undertaken the task of creating healthy lunch options for kids.

It is a subject that’s close to Clavel’s heart, so when he was approached by Aldar Academies Al Muna school to create convenient, nutritious meals in a box, he jumped at the chance.

“I think children in the UAE are generally unhealthy, and as an expectant father, I’m very much worried about this,” he said. “Obesity among children across the UAE is on the rise – as it is in the USA and Europe – due to changing dietary habits and limited physical activity. All this can be changed, much of it reversed, with good, healthy eating.

“This, combined with limited physical activity leads to a whole host of problems including diabetes, allergy development, erratic energy levels and mood swings.

“In the UAE you can literally find anything to eat and anything to do so there are no excuses for being lazy! Yet many pay more at the pump for Premium petrol for their cars but less for the quality of their food for their children. That logic can only change with education.”

via Abu Dhabi cafe creates healthy meals for schools | HotelierMiddleEast.com.

Exclusive from the Abu Dhabi Tourist Green World Forum: where sustainability matters

Posting directly from Abu Dhabi, where I have been invited  by our worldwide ambassador, the Green Sheikh, and our supporter Goumbook, in the person of Mrs. Tatiana Antonelli Abella, to attend to the World Green Tourism event, supporting them during the opening day which took place last Monday, Dec. 5th.

The Green Sheikh and HE Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak at WGT 2011

The morning conference was opened by the introduction of  HE Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) who actively supports responsibility and sustainability actions in Abu Dhabi and UAE respectful of the local environment and wildlife.

Immediately after our worldwide Ambassador HH Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, aka the Green Sheikh, captured the audience with an engaging presentation, merging his life philosophy and his belief together with his support for the environment and with his many travel experiences and encounters with people of all races, cultures and social classes. From Antarctica to Brazil, Iceland and Australia via amusing anecdotes, the Green Sheikh skillfully showed the audience that we are all equal, no matter if men or women, adults or children, Christians or  Muslims or Jews or following other religions, rich or poor.

The presentation was accompanied by amazing images and he used the cardinal points as a guide for his presentation -N, E, S and W- each one having its own enhanced meaning: N as Nature, S as Social, E as Empowerment, and W as World. Because travellers too can make a better world, through a more aware, green and responsible tourism

To my great surprise – and I want to publicly thank the Green Sheikh for this- the Green Sheikh introduced the ECOFFEE platform to the audience, presenting it as a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs.

ECOFFEE as a “Sustainable entrepreneurship platform” was in fact coined together with the Green Sheikh during our first meeting some of months ago, while talking about  ECOFFEE’ services and projects, like the Franchising coffee shop, especially designed for those entrepreneurs who want to run a profitable, responsible and ethical business.

What I am witnessing here at the WGT event is the growing importance of the environment, sustainability and responsibility issues which are now actually transferred into daily business practices even in the Tourism industry – I am glad and proud to be among those who are actively supporting it each and every day with DESITA and ECOFFEE’s business practices.

World Green Tourism leaders meet in Abu Dhabi

Presented by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi (Dec. 5-7) is a global event to provide the much needed platform dedicated to sustainable tourism.World_Green_Tourism

Held over three days, the event is the largest ever gathering of government officials, regional and international tourism authorities, environmental agencies, industry leaders, urban city planners, architects, developers, institutional investors and financiers, airlines and tour operators, green product suppliers, universities and academics to examine this issue.

The event aims to support and further enhance sustainable tourism globally and in the region by creating opportunities where industry leaders can meet and discuss immediate challenges and effectively formulate solutions to pressing environmental issues.

The WGT is a three-day conference with heavyweight keynote speeches and interactive panel debates, workshops and an exhibition that will showcase sustainable products, services and technologies relating to the travel and tourism industry. With visitors including hotel GMs, responsible travel agents and environmental consultants the exhibition is the ideal place to showcase your solutions. In addition the exhibition will feature existing and planned developments, hotels and projects that are taking a sustainable approach.

The dense conference program will start on Dec. 5th. Introduced by a speech by ECOFFEE’s Worlwide Ambassador, H.H Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi (the Green Sheikh), the conference will follow dealing with Industry related themes: How can large scale tourism ever be made sustainable? ,“Empowering consumers to make a responsible choice: What steps should the travel industry take?” , “Whose responsibility is it to green the tourism industry?” ending with “Green branding and marketing: Making sure your values are consistent with your message” panel.

In the next two days, the conference will deal with other important topics, such as Water conservation and energy use and regenerating and developing destinations
using sustainable principles. It will be also possible to book site visits that will take place to sustainable tourism projects in and around the city of Abu Dhabi. Delegates will be accompanied by representatives of the ADTA and EAD as well as the consultants who work with them.

We will attend the event to support the Green Sheikh and to bring back news and ECOFFEE’s new interesting prospects and projects. Please do not hesitate to contact norman|at|ecoffee|dot|it to plan a meeting at the upcoming WGT.

Upcoming Events: our agenda

Here’s a list of all the leading events that we will follow in the next months.

8th-11th September, 2011: Sana, Bologna IT.
15th-17th September, 2011: FCSI FAME Conference, Stockholm SW
8th -12th October 2011: Anuga, Cologne D
16th – 18th October 2011: Qatar International Environment Protection, Doha
17th-19th October 2011:  Green Middle East, Sharjah, UAE
21th -25 October 2011: Host Milan, IT
4th-7th November, 2011: Salone Franchising Milano, Milan IT
9th-12th November, 2011: Ecomondo, Rimini IT
16th – 18th Nomber: Mapic, Cannes FR
22nd-24th November: Diyafa, Qatar
24th November, 2011: Green Awards, London UK
5th-7th December: World Green Tourism, Abu Dhabi

Meeting you will be a great pleasure: just sent me an email norman(at)ecoffee(dot)it to synch our agendas.

A new shop concept by DESITA and …ECOFFEE

I am glad to announce that DESITA is planning a shop concept for the new image of the Saadeddin pastry shops chain located in many states and cities of the Arabian peninsula, whose first restyling project has been planned for one of its Riyadh branches.

After having spent a couple of months briefing with the client in Italy and in Saudi Arabia and after having visited the shop location in Riyadh, we are now defining its layout following the client wishes and our already confirmed inputs about the sale process. The chain’s new brand image will be a young, fresh, trendy and European one.

The pastry shop project will be developed over an area of about 350 square meters and will include an innovative sale formula, for the Saudi habits, which we are sure will generate great interest and attention not limited to the Arab area only.

Thanks also to our fortnightly experience in the foodservice business, to our knowledge of the Arab culture and customer behavior and to the unlimited trust from our Client, we will merge the local traditions and habits into a new shop concept, designing innovative interiors and also a new way to intend the coffee shop area along the “single” (reserved to men only) and the “family” rooms areas.

It is in fact required in Saudi Arabia that food shops with catering facilities have specifically reserved entrances, men-only sitting rooms and other ones for women and families.

Furthermore, in agreement with the client, the concept is going to be developed following, where possible, the ECOFFEE guidelines as per the use of materials, equipment, products and sustainable solutions.

This important client has been collaborating with us for many years and his trust has always been rewarded allowing his company to be a trendsetter one in his area of business. His willingness to embrace sustainability in this new sales formula will grant him a sure competitive advantage. It is a honor for us to collaborate with such of farsighted and open minded client.

The combination of the new business formula and of the ECOFFEE guidelines applied to this first pastry shop will be next used in all the other chain branches, so that to make it a point of reference for the sustainability trend in a geographical area more and more sensitive to this issue.

Lebanon’s hotels need to implement responsible hospitality

A great article by Omar J. Sakr, in the Hospitality News Magazine, gives a detailed picture of Lebanon’s Hotel industry as per the introduction of environmental practices.

The author talks about the major findings of his recent field research conducted in Lebanon between June 2010 and January 2011, which show that international hotel chains in Lebanon are more likely to implement environmental practices than local ones. This research also identified different barriers that are not allowing hotels to fully adopt environmentally friendly practices. The major identified barriers were the financial resources of the hotel, the lack of national infrastructure, the lack of awareness among managers and staff, the lack of awareness among guests, the lack of expertise in applying EMS (Environmental Management Systems), and finally the lack of compliance with the existing legislation, which is not compulsory in most of the cases.

75% of international chain hotels in Lebanon are implementing environmental practices with 50% of them implementing formal EMS; the results of the local and regional hotels have shown that only 16% of these hotels are implementing some types of environmental practices and the remaining hotels of this category are mostly implementing energy saving measures.

Not all the hotels managed by international chains are implementing what their mother companies have already achieved in other markets. They are likely to introduce different environmental practices and at varying levels. One of these hotels had not introduced any environmental action, while another hotel has a Responsible Business Manager; other hotels generally assigned environmental policies and practices to the engineering manager

The managers of international hotel chains showed more interest in implementing environmental practices then the managers of local hotels, mainly as a result of the culture of the mother company and the economies of scale at which their companies operate. It is worth pointing out that none of the rurally located hotels, which are individually owned, participated in the survey. The lack of environmental management is the most probable reason for this. The full article is available here.

Where are Retail’s Hottest Emerging Markets?

Wondering whether to open your new fashion store in China or in Brazil but you don’t have any clue? The annual A.T. Kerney’s Retail Index  provides you with a detailed list of the most emerging countries for apparel retail.

The A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI)™ ranks the top 30 emerging countries for retail development and identifies windows of opportunity for global retailers to invest in developing markets. The GRDI is unique because it doesn’t just identify which markets are bigger or richer, but rather which markets are hotter and bursting with opportunity. The full annual report can be read at this link, but let’s take a quick look at what the report shows.

 

China ranks as the most attractive emerging market for apparel retailers according to a study by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. Its first place ranking was driven by the country’s large population and the growing disposable income of the middle class. With its compound annual growth rate of more than 20 percent in recent years, apparel retail in China has grown at a rapid pace, and this trend is expected to continue for the next five years.

China was followed in the ranking by two Middle East Countries, U.A.E. and Kuwait, then by Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The United Arab Emirates holds the second position in the 2011 Apparel Index, driven by a population with a high disposable income and immense fashion consciousness. The expatriate populace and tourism in particular are driving forces of consumption in this market. Additionally, the UAE is a regional commerce center in the Middle East, and is a preferred market for entering the Middle East as well as testing new products and retail formats.

Kuwait is ranked #3 in the Apparel Index. Key factors driving retail growth in Kuwait are a favorable long-term economic outlook, a sophisticated consumer base with high levels of disposable income and fashion awareness, more women entering the workforce, and a significant expansion in retail real estate. The gross leasable retail space in Kuwait has expanded from 345,000 square meters in 2006 to 1.15 million square meters in 2010.

The remaining top ten markets in the 2011 A.T. Kearney Retail Apparel Index are Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam and Chile. (Source: A.T.Kerney)