Business
American business targets the high-spend potential of the Middle East

flickr/klebtahi
Here’s a couple of insights which should have any self-respecting entrepreneur checking their business credit card limit before flying off into the blue yonder on a fact-finding mission. Official estimates put the number of Americans living abroad at just over six million, a large but mainly untapped market. And something like 95% of consumers are to be found outside the borders of the United States. Yes, it’s a big, wide world of opportunity out there and there are no bigger buyers of American luxury goods than the citizens of the Gulf States of Qatar and Bahrain in the Middle East.
The American Express Middle East Luxury Spending Tracker surveyed a random sample of 1,000 residents a year or two back, drawn from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). And it found Qatari citizens were the biggest buyers of luxury goods across the Middle East, closely followed by consumers in Bahrain. Qataris, the survey found, spent up to $5,000 a month on luxury goods, while consumers in Oman and Jordan were the most conservative shoppers, spending less than $250 per month.
And they preferred luxury products such as cars, high-end electronic goods and fashion accessories as opposed to holidays and spa treatments, with quality and brand name influencing purchasing decisions.
Mazin Khoury, Chief Executive Officer, American Express Middle East, said at the time, “Quality is by far the biggest driver of luxury purchases among consumers, though the brand name also remains a key deciding factor. Those surveyed said that the brand name was key in determining spend, in addition to sales, price reductions and advertising. It is only in the UAE that a friend’s recommendation carried the greatest weight.”
Winding forward to today, it’s perhaps little surprise to find the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with more than 300 business leaders and government officials from nearly 20 countries, has just launched a new initiative aimed at promoting the business potential of the Middle East.
Called the Middle East Commercial Center (MECC), the private sector-led alliance intends to promote greater trade and investment to address economic challenges and opportunities across the region. The MECC mix includes business and trade organizations, American Chambers of Commerce abroad, national chambers of commerce and industry, and major companies.
“Through the MECC, we are taking a new approach in this region and looking for those things that bring us together,” said Myron Brilliant, the U.S. Chamber’s executive vice president and head of International Affairs. “We are overcoming obstacles and building a more economically integrated Middle East.”
During two days of meetings last month in Jordan, the group identified concrete steps to guide the organization moving forward. As a “coalition of action,” the MECC aims to advance projects and promote public policies that will contribute to more regional economic integration and increased foreign investment.
The group will initially focus on a limited number of pressing economic and strategic issues through task forces focused on movement of goods and market access, national resource cooperation, special economic zones, and entrepreneurship development. More broadly, it will address a number of key sectors in a regional context, including finance and development, health care, education, regional tourism, and women in business.
Further details about the MECC and its aims are available here.
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