The Japanese discount chain Daiso aims to open up to seven stores each year across the Arabian Gulf as part of a regional expansion plan.
The brand opened its latest branch this week in The Dubai Mall, bringing the total number of stores in the region to 35 outlets, 20 of which are in the Emirates.
"We are very pleased to receive such an amazing response, popularity and growth in the Daiso Japan concept in the UAE," said Hirotake Yano, the president of Daiso.
"Daiso in the UAE has been a true success story and therefore the UAE is a very important market in our Daiso map," he added.
Worldwide the brand has more than 3,300 stores, the majority of which are in its home market, where it opens up to 20 branches a month. Daiso has annual sales of about US$3 billion (Dh11.01bn).
"If you ask me, is there a finite number of Daiso stores in our business plan, the answer is no," said Jayant Ganwani, the chief executive of Lals Group, which operates the Middle East franchise in partnership with the Damas Group.
"The only objectives we have are, is the location right? Is the target customer present in that area? And are we going to be able to provide a reasonable experience for the customer? If the answer is yes and the location works, there is no limit to where we could be."
In addition to the UAE outlets, the franchise partnership operates stores in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. All of the markets show the potential to grow, but Saudi holds the most promise because of the population size.
Finding the right property in the GCC can be a challenge, but the store is adaptable, said Mr Ganwani.
"You can have a store ranging from 500 square feet to 12,000 sq ft, depending on the space availability."
Daiso offers shoppers a range of 70,000 products, ranging from glassware to gardening accessories, crockery, do-it-yourself kits, cosmetics and toys. Almost all of the items are developed in-house. The brand sells 147.5 million batteries each year, equivalent to five every second.
"We are only as good as the product innovation that takes place," said Mr Ganwani."Daiso produces roughly 800 to 1,000 new products every month. Of those we reckon close to 300 or 400 or 500 are very relevant for our market, so a customer who comes into our store today will come back next week and find something very different on the shelves."
Daiso operates in 30 countries worldwide and aims to open outlets in Europe this year, as well as expand its presence in the United States.
gduncan@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
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Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
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Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
