Page 328 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

310 Notes

countries—Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria—have also been entered
through franchises or partnerships.
9 Al-Futtaim corporate Web site and press releases.
10 “Inter IKEA Systems B.V.—Ikea Concept,” IKEA corporate Web site,
franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=concept2 (last accessed
February 11, 2007).
11 “Inter IKEA Systems B.V.—Ikea Franchising,” IKEA corporate Web
site, franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=franchise2 (last
accessed February 11, 2007).
12 Abdulla Al-Futtaim, The World’s Richest People—Forbes,”
www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/Y6MM.html (last accessed February
11, 2007).
13 “Al Futtaim Seeks to Double Retail Value,” Zawya, February 7, 2007,
www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidGN10102989 (last accessed February
11, 2007).
14 “Dell Middle East Resellers,” Dell corporate Web site, www1.euro.
dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/emea/contact/edb/arae?
c=ae&l=en&s=gen&~ck=mn (last accessed May 16, 2007).
15 It should be noted, however, that Dell Partners are not exclusively
dedicated to Dell; they may sell or service the products of other
computer makers as well. Later in this chapter, we will review some
of the challenges presented by conflicts of interest in distributorship
agreements.
16 This perspective assumes, of course, that the multinational feels
confident in its ability (or its potential) to manage the business
directly. As the Middle East has long appeared an enigma to many
managers, some multinationals prefer to take the risk that a
distributor not perform well rather than bear the operating risk of
doing the job themselves.
17 This issue is not uncommon. Beverage distributors in the United
States, for example, often pose such challenges to small
manufacturers who need them for their capabilities but realize the
distributor represents other comparable or competitive products.
18 Boomberg (ranked according to Q4 2006 total assets).
19 Abdulrahman Al-Hamidi, “Banking Sector Issues in Saudi Arabia,”
Bank of International Settlements Web site, www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/
bispap28v.pdf, pg 4(last accessed Jan 14, 2007).
20 www.wto.org/English/news_e/pres05_e/pr420_e.htm.
21 One exception to this rule is at Dubai’s huge Mall of the Emirates,
which boasts an indoor ski slope. Not to be outdone, a competitor is
building Dubai’s second indoor ski slope.