Dubai, 04 September 2006 - TiE Dubai, the local chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, the global organisation that was set up to promote entrepreneurship and wealth creation, hosted a networking event aimed at providing valuable insights into the building of successful brands for the benefit of its members comprising entrepreneurs, corporate executives and senior professionals.

The event, which was held at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel in Dubai, was addressed by well known entrepreneur, Mr. Chetan Karani, Managing Director of Pearl Enterprises LLC and leading retail expert, Mr. Raju Nair, Senior Marketing Manager of the Landmark Group.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Avishesha Bhojani, Director of Marketing, TiE Dubai, who chaired the session, highlighted the role played by the two speakers towards the creation of successful brands in the region.

Mr. Bhojani said: "Brands are crucial for a company's success. Multinational and local companies like Virgin Airlines, Easy Jet and Babyshop are successful because they have built successful brands. Our guest speakers have contributed significantly towards creating successful brands, and are here to speak to you on what entrepreneurs can expect from brands and ways of building brand success".

Mr. Nair has worked on and developed successful brand building campaigns for a number of brands including Dettol, Vicks, Hush Puppies, Adams and Costa Coffee. In fact, the work done for the two international retail brands, Adams, a children's clothing brand, and Costa Coffee, won acclaim from the principals in the United Kingdom, and helped the brands build their own equity and expand their presence in the region.

Mr. Karani is widely credited with transforming his family business from modest beginnings to a renowned enterprise by creating the Mikura Pearls brand. A founding managing committee member of the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, Mr. Karani is currently the Deputy Managing Director of the Group. His company, Pearl Enterprises LLC is the first to receive Dubai Municipality's Bareeq Award for "Excellent Jewellery Trade Practices".

Mr. Raju Nair used Adams and Costa Coffee as case studies in his presentation titled "Building Brands: Unshackling the Power of a Brand".

"The retail sector is growing rapidly in the Middle East, and is attracting new entrants and major investments.  H & M for instance is coming in, and this is visible all over Dubai. The challenge is how to take a brand and make it relevant to the Middle East. How do you make a brand stand out from another",Mr. Nair said.

Mr.  Nair said that businesses must consider their brand as a powerful tool for achieving success, and emphasised that branding is not about spending a huge amount of money but on how to use it effectively.  Rather than being a mantra, brand building has evolved into a highly scientific process.

In his presentation titled "The Mikura Experience: Branding from an entrepreneur's perspective", Mr. Karani explained how successful branding with the creation of Mikura Pearls helped grow his family business immensely, and give pearls the same appeal as that of gold in the jewellery trade.

"At the start, jewellers were not willing to do business in pearls because they thought there was no demand for it. However, we saw an opportunity to promote high quality pearl jewellery at an affordable price. As part of our radical thinking and marketing, the first thing we did was to create a brand in 1992 and give it a Japanese name, Mikura. We then promoted the brand in various ways, within social groups, at fashion shows and jewellery exhibitions. Today, Mikura Pearls is the leading pearl brand in the GCC," Mr. Karani said.  

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The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE)
Tie is a global not-for-profit organisation that was formed in 1992 by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, with roots in the Indian sub-continent, primarily to nurture entrepreneurs and provide a networking platform for members. TiE members have a variety of entrepreneurial, professional and corporate backgrounds. Each member is committed to share his expertise so that young entrepreneurs can benefit from the common pool of knowledge and experience available with TiE. The organisation has more than 8000 members and almost 1000 Charter members in 42 Chapters worldwide. TiE is also supported by over 20 institutions including Silicon Valley venture capital investors, law firms and banks. Dubai's strategic position in the transit route between India and the United States, and its rapid strides towards being a centre of excellence in the region, led to the opening of the Dubai Chapter of TiE. The Dubai Chapter aims to leverage the experience and commitment of its global membership to promote entrepreneurship and wealth creation in this region.

For more information, please contact:
Anosh Ahamath,
Bates PanGulf PR,
Tel: +971-4-295 3456;
Fax: +971-4-295 1027;
Cell: 050-7853956
E-mail: anosh@batespangulf.com

© Press Release 2006