Page 77 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Think Again: Addressing Misconceptions about the GCC 61

efficient way to find professionals who combine experience in
global institutions with local knowledge of the GCC region. The
GCC may be comprised of Arab countries, but the expatriate com-
munity plays a central role in its commercial life.

KEY LESSONS

● Sound strategies rely on sound assumptions.
Multinational companies must actively seek to remove the
five “deadly” misconceptions about the GCC that could cause
them to misjudge the region’s opportunities and risks.
● Beyond energy, the GCC offers promising opportunities
across a broad range of sectors, most notably: infrastructure
and real estate, industry and manufacturing, tourism,
retailing, and services.
● Not all GCC consumers are rich: midmarket propositions
comprise a large opportunity.
● GCC buyers embrace global brands when the products meet
their needs and the brands are responsibly managed.
● Women play a central role in the GCC’s economic life,
making purchase decisions, comprising an appealing,
educated consumer segment, and increasingly taking
positions of leadership.
● Expatriates are crucial to GCC economies and make up one-
third of the region’s total population.