Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC — SME Case Study (UAE)

Starting a business is not an easy task, but place it in confident and capable hands, and things will become even more straightforward than expected. Through doing so, one can devote their whole effort and energy to market planning rather than wasting time and effort on registration and configuration.

Investment within the UAE is generally easy. It’s inspired by business-friendly restrictive, financial, and legal surroundings. Being one of the freest economies within the world, the UAE seems to be an investor-friendly and stable world hub. The investment within the Emirates has been growing alongside an increasing variety of quality categories for investors to pick from to building their wealth. From property investment to securities market Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC mercantilism, funds, deposit accounts, and personal pension schemes, there are investment choices which are ideal for pretty much each risk profile.

Sharjah, in particular, offers so many opportunities for small companies and entrepreneurs. People are also becoming interested in establishing businesses in Sharjah due to its interest in history. Also, its culture is appealing to the residents, prompting entrepreneurs to develop their businesses and companies. Moreover, Sharjah facilitates and helps investors initiate their businesses as it is less expensive, has an active seaport, and is rich in cultural heritage.Subsequently, Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC’s founder grabbed the opportunity to start his business in the emirate of Sharjah.

Company Overview Desert is the main composition of the Arabian Peninsula as it is the core feature of the Arab land. Before discovering oil, the desert was the dwelling and the safe haven for nomads to build their whole living, using the essential tools that they could think of with the minimum equipment that the desert and environment provide.

As the world developed and people moved from the desert to the civilized city life, Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC took it upon itself to take the Arabis back to the desert to spend the most beautiful moments in it, following their ancestors’ footsteps with improved modern equipment. Istanbul Picnic Accessories focuses on the group’s environment through the tools it provides, according to the customers’ requirements without harming the environment, following the slogan “Leave No Trace” of the Tourism Authority and then providing unique products to keep the environment clean, spotless, and unharmed.

Besides hunting, desert trips are essential characteristics that distinguish the people of the Arabs. Also, tourism has become the focus of everyone’s attention, especially in winter, as a large group moves on the weekends towards the desert to stay in small camps for one night or more.

The company started as a small store in Al-Badayer Market (Al-Madam), a well-selected location since it is considered one of the country’s main camping assemblies. After the store’s success, the expansion was with the opening of the Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC showroom.

The showroom is considered one of the largest showrooms in the area for desert supplies. It contains thousands of tools used in road trips, travel supplies, and other equipment that fulfill the needs of desert goers, camel owners, and those looking for hunting in the desert.

Furthermore, the company adopted the vision “The Desert is Your Home” through some experts in the same field.

From this point of view, Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC has concentrated on travelers and hobbyists in the desert to equip them with the tools they need to facilitate movement on long trips, starting from tents and equipment types to entertainment tools and accessories.

Mission “A committed team is to provide the safest, most affordable, high-quality, environment-friendly products to reach customers satisfaction.” Vision “The Desert is Your Home” Its mission and vision are aligned with the leader’s goals and support the purpose of the business. A well-thought out mission and vision will provide a good picture of the organization’s goals and assess its practicability.

Furthermore, the mission statement has to reflect the passion of the company and the source of its energy.

Organizational Structure

As Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC team of 12 employees work cooperatively with no explicit hierarchy, the below chart considers the team – based organization approach as the most applicable approach.

General Manager Human Resources Procurement Sales & Marketing Finance Figure 23: Istanbul Picnic’s Organizational Structure It would come as no surprise that a team-based organizational structure divides employees by sections. A team organizational structure is predictable to challenge the orthodox hierarchy, focusing more on conflict resolution, teamwork, and giving more independence to workers.

Advantages ¡ Upsurge’s efficacy, responsibility, and frankness by cracking down blockades.

¡ Encourages a mindset for accomplishment.

¡ Adjusts conservative career styles by inspiring people to shift sideways.

¡ Practice of values instead of seniority.

¡ Requires limited control.

¡ Acts as best for agile scrum or tiger squad innovativeness.

Disadvantages ¡ It’s in contradiction with the intrinsic tendency of specific organizations to a firmly bureaucratic structure.

¡ It’s possible to allow promoting paths less translucent for employees.

Leadership Entrepreneurs can come from various backgrounds, financial, and personal support systems. However, self- made entrepreneurs have a great deal of respect as they are unacquainted with the needed support and funding; instead, they turned their dream into reality.

Harib Saeed AlShamsi is a living example of a self-made entrepreneur. His love for the desert and his passion to not rely only on a job’s fixed income drove him towards entrepreneurship at a young age.

The business idea started when he used to plan hunting trips with his relatives and finding some essential tools was hard. He began to gather information, prepare the business plan, and reach the level that satisfies his potential.

Tactical and organizational strategic planning using success metrics will help any business spotting patterns and operations changes, leading to potential market opportunities.

Figure 24: Storefront Photo Consumption habits, improvements in customer behavior, and a rapid rise in demand for a specific product or service, among other variations, may provide valuable lessons for the development of new solutions.

Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC’s operational strategy is finding the right points of differentiation, fostering outstanding service and customer relationship techniques, product variation, and competing prices to satisfy consumer demands and necessitate a high degree of analytical capacity.

Marketing is a fast-paced, ever-changing industry. The top digital marketing campaigns evolve in tandem with customers and technological trends. That is why any company requires a well-planned marketing campaign with well-defined milestones and objectives.

Once the correct map is designed, reaching the company’s desired targets is far better.

Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC depends on the word- of-mouth strategy, which is the traditional way of advertising that relies on recommendations and the spread of experience from one customer to another.

Moreover, the company depends on seasonal offers and discounts to grab clients.

Seasonal pricing is one of the most common and effective strategies. This practice requires charging varying costs for goods and services based on whether they are high or low season. The concept is to smooth demand by attracting consumers with low pricing during quiet periods and maximizing sales with higher prices when demand is high.

Figures 25-26: Marketing plans showing the importance of word-of-mouth

Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC divided its showroom into three main departments alongside its other usual

products

Houseware  Rugs and Towels  Cooking and eating utensils  Plates, bowls and mugs  Cook boxes  Mini fridges  Others Grill Tools  Fuel and charcoal  Lighters and matches  Grills  Skewers  Others Camping Tools  Sleeping Bags  Table and camping chairs  Spare batteries, portable  Tents  Tent repair kits  Torches and head torches Figure 27-28: Lists of items and a look at decorations of Istanbul Picnic

Successful Best Practices

¡ Established the largest showroom in the Al- Badayer Market along with an exhibition and small store.

¡ Signed an agreement with a couple of well-known families in Sharjah to design, set up, and equip their farms with the agreed products, devices, tools, and furniture. Although those tasks were nerve-racking and required a great deal of effort and cooperation with the Turkish supplier, they highlighted accomplishments for the company.

¡ Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC has faced a hard time since COVID-19 started. The leading supplier for the company is from Turkey, and international restrictions affected the import and export of products as well as the blockading of people actually to leave the house.

Consequently, sales were affected in that period of time, yet they started to flourish again gradually as the situation is much better than it used to be.

The Company As of Today/Challenges Harib’s ambitions drive him to do the best. His plan did not necessarily take significant steps quickly; instead, steady and consistent progress is the major player component of success.

As mentioned before, Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC started as a small store, and by the hard work of the selected team, it was expanded to an exhibition in the same area.

Moreover, Harib’s potential did not stop here. He collaborated with a Turkish company to import exclusive products to the new showroom of Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC, the most significant showroom in the area.

The showroom contains thousands of thoughtfully selected products to fit UAE citizens, bedouins, desert goers, camel owners, and whoever wants to enjoy visiting the desert.

Figure 29: Company overview S.W.O.T Analysis Strengths

• Strategic location
• Supporting, cooperative team
• Great Reputation

Weaknesses

• Does not have social media

channels and a website

• Depends on traditional

marketing strategies Opportunities

• Open a new branch in another

location to increase the customer base, strengthen connections, and ease delivery -Empower Innovation Threats S.W.O.T.

-COVID19 has an effect on all forms of businesses by reducing the number of consumers and sales.

Falling sales, reduced financial liquidity, and the operation of important suppliers will all have an effect on the company's sustainability Figure 30: SWOT analysis chart of Istanbul Picnic LLC When an organization takes the time to do a SWOT analysis, it will be prepared with a sound plan for prioritizing the work that needs to be completed in order to expand the business.

A SWOT analysis will influence any businessman to look at his business in new ways and from new directions. It will grant him to examine the strengths and weaknesses and how he can use them to capitalize on the opportunities and challenges in taking the company to the next level.

Applying SWOT analysis on Istanbul Picnic Accessories LLC, I came up with some recommendations and emphasized some areas to improve to enhance the business.

Strengths ¡ Strategic Location: Its position often influences a company’s profit and overall success. A location strategy is a plan for obtaining the best location for a business by determining its needs and objectives and then looking for locations with services that meet those needs and goals.

¡ Supporting Team: One of the most critical aspects of performance is teamwork, as working together for a shared purpose rather than competing for personal recognition results in outstanding successes.

¡ Great

Reputation

Companies with positive reputations attract better customers. They are considered to have more significant profit, which allows them to charge a higher price. Their buyers are more loyal and purchase a wider variety of goods.

Weaknesses ¡ Limited Communication Channels: Winning and keeping clients done by communicating with them.

Promoting good communication skills allows you to market your company to potential consumers, build strong relationships with current customers, and answer consumer issues.

¡ Depends on traditional marketing strategies

Companies in traditional marketing strategies would not have enough time to adapt to advertisements instead of the current digital internet marketing. Also, traditional advertising has far fewer message delivery options than newer channels of communication.

Opportunities ¡ New Branch: Open a new branch in another location to increase the customer base, strengthen connections, and ease delivery, and UAE licensing fees have been reviewed and confirmed to be decreased, which is an excellent opportunity for businesses to do so.

¡ Empowering Innovation: Innovation can be a part of the company’s marketing plan. It can create an innovative community and pave the way for new ideas. It also improves the company’s success by implementing more effective procedures that result in higher efficiency and performance.

Threats ¡ COVID-19 has an effect on all forms of businesses by reducing the number of consumers and sales.

Falling sales, reduced financial liquidity, and the operation of important suppliers will all have an effect on the company’s sustainability.

The SME segment has gotten more attention and focus recently. Increasingly, smaller and midsized businesses are a vital key for the UAE’s alteration away from oil and the expansion of a lively private segment. They have proved to be strategic generators of industries in the region, and they are expected to play a much larger role in the coming years.

The UAE government is considering a critical part to upgrade its commitment and implementation of the SME area. The public authority is setting up different activities and projects to assist them with development.

There are several entities across the country to assist SMEs, such as Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME advancement, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, and Saud Bin Saqr Establishment for SMEs Ruwad – Sharjah Entrepreneurship Foundation.

No matter how small or insignificant the ideas are, there are no correct or incorrect explanations for starting a business. Sure, there might be one or two compelling excuses not to start a company right now, especially in the current situations that affect the world, however, entrepreneurship has proved to be life-changing for so many people that it is worthwhile to remember.

By the facilitation that the country provides to encourage people to run their businesses, one has to take advantage of it and excel in pursuing and fulfilling their dreams.