Entering a New Market
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Albert Heijn goes to Dubai
Authors James Lawton Max Zijlstra Garrett Koolman
Lecturer Dhrs. D. Boels
Institute Stenden University
Date June 5, 2009
Introduction
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth”.
John F. Kennedy
For our economic report, we chose to analyze the supermarket chain Albert Heijn, part of the multinational organization Koninglijk (Royal) Ahold for the Dubai market. Albert Heijn is one of the leading food retailers in the Netherlands with over 800 stores. Its stores come in different formats and their wide product range caters to all levels of income. Dubai has a blossoming economy that caters to the wealthy and middle income earning families, as unemployment in Dubai is only 2.5%. We believe the high quality of Albert Heijn matches the expectations of these consumers and will fit into this market perfectly. Unfortunately the recent global economic crisis has had its effects on the economy of Dubai. This is mainly due to the fact that Dubai’s economy’s main driving force which is import/export of raw materials is intimately entwined with the economy of the United States. But there is strong belief that the situation will bounce back as soon as faith and trust is restored in consumers and investors alike, as the secondary sectors of the market for example real estate increases and balances the shortages felt as a result of the lack of exports.
On conducting research we have seen as an advantage for Albert Heijn the economic similarities between Dubai and the Netherlands are immense. Furthermore, for Albert Heijn to enter the market would not be as risky as one thinks as since 2004, experts have estimated that the number of Dutch people living and working in Dubai has almost quadrupled. We believe that this will make it easier for Albert Heijn to penetrate the market by using ethno-marketing strategies which would target the Dutch population first to gain a foothold in the
Albert Heijn goes to Dubai
Authors James Lawton Max Zijlstra Garrett Koolman
Lecturer Dhrs. D. Boels
Institute Stenden University
Date June 5, 2009
Introduction
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth”.
John F. Kennedy
For our economic report, we chose to analyze the supermarket chain Albert Heijn, part of the multinational organization Koninglijk (Royal) Ahold for the Dubai market. Albert Heijn is one of the leading food retailers in the Netherlands with over 800 stores. Its stores come in different formats and their wide product range caters to all levels of income. Dubai has a blossoming economy that caters to the wealthy and middle income earning families, as unemployment in Dubai is only 2.5%. We believe the high quality of Albert Heijn matches the expectations of these consumers and will fit into this market perfectly. Unfortunately the recent global economic crisis has had its effects on the economy of Dubai. This is mainly due to the fact that Dubai’s economy’s main driving force which is import/export of raw materials is intimately entwined with the economy of the United States. But there is strong belief that the situation will bounce back as soon as faith and trust is restored in consumers and investors alike, as the secondary sectors of the market for example real estate increases and balances the shortages felt as a result of the lack of exports.
On conducting research we have seen as an advantage for Albert Heijn the economic similarities between Dubai and the Netherlands are immense. Furthermore, for Albert Heijn to enter the market would not be as risky as one thinks as since 2004, experts have estimated that the number of Dutch people living and working in Dubai has almost quadrupled. We believe that this will make it easier for Albert Heijn to penetrate the market by using ethno-marketing strategies which would target the Dutch population first to gain a foothold in the