As general manager of Omanoil's corporate affairs, business development and procurement divisions, Eng Nabeel al Ruwaidhi is seeking to sustain the company's product and service standards. In an interview to Muscat Daily, Eng Ruwaidhi talks about Omanoil's retail network, the company's growth areas, and its future plans and challenges.
What are Omanoil's retail sector plans for 2012?
Throughout the coming year, with our customers' best interests in mind, we will seek to sustain our excellent product and service standards. The retail business unit will continue to add new, strategically-located forecourts as well as upgrade facilities to align retail network plans with customer aspirations.
We have set an aggressive growth strategy focused on closing network gaps while renovating existing sites to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction. We want to maintain our position as a fast growing retail network, while backing the nation's visions by supporting infrastructure development blueprints with strategically located filling stations.
Operational excellence will be reinforced by attending to all HSSE (health safety security environment) violations, training employees in areas where skill gaps are identified and establishing best practices in the industry. Forty per cent of our retail sites are under the direct supervision of the company with the philosophy of providing superior customer experiences across the network.
Our concept to redefine total convenience is imprinted in our Ahlain convenience store brand. One-stop-shopping experiences are created by hubs around our filling stations that attract more customers while retaining loyal customers. To complement this approach, we have introduced Basma and Ejaba fuel cards, the sales of which have contributed significantly to the retail business.
We also host some of the world's most recognised names such as Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins at our quick service restaurants.
Nine new Ahlain convenience stores and one car wash facility were commissioned in 2011, taking the total of convenience stores to 75. We hope to continue to better serve our customers across the sultanate with our expansion plans. Furthermore, we aim to identify new partners who share our vision to create unparalleled customer experiences with best-in-class services and products.
In which sector of the company's business are you predicting the most growth?
Our power house is retail, but we are working on reducing the dependence on this sector in the long term as we want to see an even contribution to the business from other sectors across the board.
The commercial sector is growing rapidly, predominantly due to the marine business which has effectively increased our presence at Oman's ports.
In short, we aim to diversify to leverage contributions from all sectors for the sustainability of the business.
What plans do you have to develop the marine sector?
Omanoil has made its mark in the Port of Sohar with the joint venture company, Omanoil Matrix Marine Services, which has grown exponentially to become the sole active bunker-fuel supplier.
We would like to replicate this success at other locations to inspire our presence at Oman's ports and will continuously seek the best opportunities to enter ports to better serve the industry by partnering with prominent companies.
Our ambitions in the marine sector are based on the company's support of the nation's economic growth and sustainability. We want to play our role in encouraging development, especially at ports, as they are key to the country's economic evolution.
What are the commercial unit's plans in 2012?
We are fortunate to be witnessing vast improvements in economic conditions and increased government spending in infrastructure-related projects. We plan to secure a major portion of new projects but the intense competition in the commercial sector has resulted in a more volume-driven than margin-driven approach. Therefore, the key to success is striking a balance between profits and margins.
Are there plans to increase Omanoil's lubricants business this year?
Omanoil has two lubricants sectors: The local business where we are the sole agent of two brands - Castrol & BP - and the export market.
We heavily invest in branding activities and ambitious strategies to position Castrol and BP as premium brands in the market, while our Omanoil-branded lubricants business is growing in a constant manner due to the strong acceptance and loyalty of customers worldwide.
We have been successful at penetrating markets in the Middle East in 2011, from Jordan and Iraq to Kuwait, UAE and Qatar.
What will the key challenges be for Omanoil in 2012, especially considering the volatility in the market?
There will never be a time without challenges but our passion is what perseveres. We differentiate ourselves by creating a unique competitive advantage that is backed by operational excellence and superior customer service.
We believe that the leadership of our people is the factor of our success in maintaining presence and high market share. Sustainable growth is a key priority moving forward and we need a balance between improving shareholder value and reinvesting in business growth.
© AK News 2012
