UAE Exchange Company: Conjoint Analysis Presentation

UAE Exchange

• UAE company founded in 1980;
• Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;
• Offers financial services;
• Products:
  • Remittance;
  • Currency exchange;
  • Bill payment solutions;
  • Wealth management;
  • Payroll solutions;
• Clients:
  • Retail;
  • Corporate;
• Global network (UAE Exchange 1).
• A global expansion strategy noticed in at least a single branch in a country:
  • The greater North America has only five branches spread in Canada and some states in the US.
  • One or two branches in one country in Africa.

UAE Exchange was established in 1980 in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The company offers financial services to both local and international clients consisting of retail and corporate clients. These services include the following:

• Remittance.
• Forex.
• Bill payment.
• Wealth Management.
• Mobile Phone Products.
• Pay rolls.
• Travel and Tours.
• Prepaid Travel Card.
• Loyalty Program.

UAE Exchange was chosen because of its recognition among the super brands in the UAE and its global presence.

UAE Exchange has spread to many countries because of limited capital required to set up a single a branch.

However, the country of origin effect is only felt in the name, ‘UAE Exchange’.

UBS

• Founded 1998;
• UBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in New York, USA;
• Services:
  • Wealth Management;
  • Asset Management;
  • Investment Bank;
• Clients:
  • Private;
  • Corporate;
  • Institutional clients;
• Global network (UBS 1).

UBS is now in the UAE to manage wealth generated from oil money and real estate investments. The UAE elites prefer the company because of its financial expertise and the global image.

Analysis of the Country of Origin (COO) Effect

• UBS is known for superior financial services associated with the country of origin, Switzerland:
  • Service price – relatively premium.
  • Service quality – considered superior to international standards.
  • Brand effect – considered as reputable.
  • Social status of services and the brand – appeals to an elite and affluent group of the UAE clients.
• COO effect is important, but not a dominant factor on preference and purchase decision.
• UAE Exchange – local product liked because of cultural orientation and support for local firms:
  • Service pricing – relatively affordable for retail clients.
  • Service quality – meet the local needs and appeal to corporate clients.
  • Brand effects – adored as a growing UAE brand.
  • The social status of services and brand – appeals to both locals, not so affluent consumers and some elites.

Country of Origin is known to have effects on consumers. It is particularly important when consumers decide on pricing, service quality, brand effects and perceived social status among others.

For local products and services, the country of origin effect may not be that important to consumers, particularly lower end and middle class consumers.

Levels of Awareness on COO standards

• UBS:
  • Appeals to elite, high-end segments of UAE consumers, including Emiratis and expatriates.
• UAE Exchange:
  • Appeals to locals, expatriates, middle class and some few elites
    • Locals tend to support local firms;
    • COO effect is critical when expensive service is involved;
    • COO effects are not important for local brands (Stoenescu and Căpățînă 37).
  • High-quality services, high-status services and products from Switzerland have relatively elevated status in the local market (Khan and Bamber 580-588; FutureBrand 31).

The levels of awareness of country of origin standards differ significantly across consumer segments. Elite consumers consider COO when making expensive purchase and investment. Countries with superior products and services enjoy positive images across consumer segments.

COO Effects

• Pricing alone is not important.
• Country of Origin influences purchasing habits.
• COO could be associated with:
  • Service excellence (Emirates Airline).
  • Reliability (German cars).
  • Quality.
  • Perfection.
  • Counterfeit (Chinese products).
  • Technologically advanced products (Apple, US).
  • Sophistication.
• COO Effects could result in increased sales.
• Individual brand perception and country perception are linked but could differ over the passage of time.
• For marketers, COO Effect:
  • Is a tried and tested tool for differentiation.
  • Enhances relationships with target consumer segments.

Consumers go beyond pricing when making purchase decisions. COO Effect also influences purchasing habits. Based on different attributes given to a product, COO Effects could enhance sales or lead to purchase avoidance when negative branding is involved.

COO Effects lead to enhanced sales if the product is associated with some favorable attributes such as superiority and advanced features, but it can also affect sales if the products are perceived as counterfeit.

Marketers can exploit COO Effects for differentiation and building long-lasting relationships with target consumers.

The Future of UAE brands in the global market

• UAE Exchange is now positioned as a global brand:
  • Africa.
  • Oceania.
  • North America.
  • Europe.
  • Middle East.
  • East and South East Asia.
  • South Asia.
• UAE brands will have to compete with other well-established global brands (Flanagan 1-2).
• Currently the UAE brands lack global recognition.
• An all-out campaign is required for the brands to appeal internationally.
• Can anyone name UAE brands with a global impact apart from Emirates Airline?
• Can Emirates make it among top 100 international brands with impacts?
• Regionally, the UAE has the best brands:
  • A benchmark for the Middle East;
  • A place to make purchases;
• The global products and brands dominate the UAE market.
• Products offering:
  • The UAE lacks products to offer;
  • Product opportunities remain untapped;
  • Available products appeal to local and regional markets.
• Strategy:
  • Align the brand with the UAE to capitalize on country of origin effect, e.g.
    • Emirates Airline.
    • The newly-launched FlyDubai.
    • Dubai Islamic Bank.
    • Emirates NBD.
    • Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

The UAE brands will face fierce competition in the global market from their well-established counterparts. It is imperative to note that the UAE is not known for superior services or products relative to Switzerland, the US, Europe among others.

While consumers may recognize the UAE for its shopping malls, expensive apartments and the gold, the local brands can hardly be recognized in the international markets, particularly when ranked among leading brands from the West.

These questions strive to show that the UAE brands are still local and may not be placed among the best global brands.

Within the region, COO Effects could favor UAE brands and even create a market for global brands and products.

UAE brands, specifically products, are not found in the global markets. Hence, COO Effect is generally restricted to the country and regional markets.

UAE brands could use the label ‘UAE’ to enhance COO effects, but they must first develop positive branding in the international markets.

Works Cited

Flanagan, Ben. “Brand UAE among global heavyweights.” The National. 2015. Web.

FutureBrand. Made In: The value of Country of Origin for future brands. n.d. Web.

Khan, Hina and David Bamber. “Country of Origin Effects, Brand Image, and Social Status in an Emerging Market.” Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing 18.5 (2008): 580–588. Print.

Stoenescu, Roxana-Denisa and Gabriela Căpățînă. “Country-of-origin Effects on Purchasing Domestic Products: the Case of Romania.” Cross-Cultural Management Journal XVII. 1(7) (2015): 37-42. Print.

UAE Exchange. Who We Are. 2015. Web.

UBS. UBS United Arab Emirates. 2015. Web.