Perhaps, not for the first time, Samsung tore a leaf out of Apple’s playbook last night and staged a midnight launch of its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge — the newest, swankiest, unplastickiest Samsung smartphones ever delivered.
At least 50 eager customers formed a rather unfussy queue to be the first in the UAE to own it.
Late night launches are supposed to create a buzz but don’t think eager, breathless, teenage One Directioners, waiting for tickets, longing for a chance of being close to their heroes — more an unfortunately long wait at the returned books counter at your local library.
Fruit juice and coffee were offered by the store to heighten the excitement, along with lots of staff in, rather fetching, Samsung blue and white uniforms.
“To be honest with you I have some time to kill before my movie starts at 12.15am,” said Pooyan Karami an Iranian student in the queue. “I’m a big fan of Samsung and thought I may as well get it now as come to the mall tomorrow.
“It’s a bit odd to have to stand in line outside an open shop — but the phone will be great I’m sure.”
Samsung need the public to know about this phone and think that its great — the S5 launched last year did not sell well.
The former titan of smartphones has been fighting competition from above, below and in the centre and it needs a big winner to change the public’s perception, from an embattled company, to a company that is still in charge of its destiny.
Since its unveiling in Barcelona in March Samsung’s global PR machine has been in overdrive driving home the beauty and new technologies behind the phones. The event in Dubai had at least 200 Samsung branded promotion girls creating an atmosphere of slim beauty. The PR initiative seems to have worked with pre orders out performing the S5 significantly.
“Our pre orders are in the thousands against the S5 which were in the hundreds,” said Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer of Jacky’s Electronics that operate the branded Samsung stores speaking at the midnight launch.
“Gitex really helped the pre orders and it will sell in significant numbers tonight. We have at least 300 in stock and Samsung have ensured there will be no delays in delivery building up a strong inventory. Samsung need this phone to sell well and be perceived as, at least, an equal to its competition.”
Samsung’s PR seems to have had an effect on the public.
Everyone in the launch queue I spoke to was there to buy the, more expensive, S6 Edge. Some customers were genuinely excited by the chance of owning the new phone having stayed in the Samsung ecosystem since the start. However, possibly, the most important customer from Samsung’s perspective was the man at the front of the queue who was the only customer I spoke to last night that was changing from his Apple iPhone 6+ to the new Edge.
“I think the new phone looks beautiful and life is about change,” said Farzin Fardi Fard an Iranian music producer. “I have always been Apple but this phone has something special about it, so why not? If I don’t like it, it’s only a phone.”
ascott@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.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
