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Cesar Moukarzel, country manager of Azadea Group in Bahrain, joined the company in the summer of 2009 during the global economic crisis. He has been helping to steer the Lebanese retail group through choppy trading waters keeping it buoyant as rivals flounder on the rocks.
Although Bahrain has not been as severely affected as some of its neighbouring states thanks to the weekly influx of spend, spend, spend Saudi visitors, the island has felt the pinch as real estate projects stalled and retail sales dipped.
Halcyon days of consumerism have given way to smart shopping and controlled purchasing and reporter Asma Salman reveals how one company has re-examined its business strategy to lure today's cost-conscious customers through its doors.
Staff training, product knowledge and customer care are the essential ingredients of driving a business forward, says one of the leading retail experts in Bahrain.
Cesar Moukarzel is relishing the challenges the tough trading environment are throwing up with a hands-on approach to management.
"Azadea underwent a period of huge expansion in 2008 whereby the group opened 30 stores in Bahrain," he explained. "But 2009 was a year of global economic downturn and we needed to do things differently and prepare our team for the recovery phase.
"Focus and consolidation was our aim along with an emphasis on developing our human resources.
"Our group's concentration is not luxury brands but on those mid-to-high range names that spell 'fashion and quality'. So we were not drastically affected by the decreased economic activity but we knew we had to remain focused to stay on top of the game.
"The economy is a cycle and during challenging times the most important thing is to remain positive and know how to better improve for the recovery ... and that is what we did last year.
"Customer service was and remains our primary focus. Recruitment and training was a bit of a challenge in Bahrain but we were committed to developing the Bahraini workforce and making them dynamic.
"We had to have a skilled local workforce in our stores with excellent product knowledge who were willing to go that extra mile to make customers come back.
"We have managed to achieve that through continuous reassessment and staff training and our human resources are our major capital now.
"We are ready to move onto the next stage as the market is showing signs of recovery and economic activity has improved. "
Azadea is a franchise retail group in 12 countries with 350 stores worldwide and has popular brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Promod, Virgin Megastore, Paul's, Butcher Shop and Zara Home to name a few. It is a young, dynamic and diversified group which is expanding into new international markets.
The group is looking ahead and planning to expand next year by opening more branches of restaurants in its portfolio and introducing an American children's fashion label, Gymboree, to the market.
Lebanese-born Mr Moukarzel explained: "Footfall has improved in the malls but not to the level that it was originally.
"Saudi visitors are a constant here and although Bahrain is a small market international events like the F1 weekend, the planned European Tour golfing event and numerous conferences and exhibitions continue to attract hordes of visitors to the kingdom. Hence, we feel there is a great potential, especially in the food and beverage sector which will further boost the social scene of the island."
The father-of-two children, Sarah, seven, and Anthony, four, who are both pupils at the French School, lives on Amwaj Island, with his wife, Carla. He heads a team of 450 people in Bahrain and believes that leading through example keeps staff motivated.
His role is to manage and ensure healthy operations of his group's interests in the kingdom and have the right people at the right place at the right time.
Mr Moukarzel believes in a 'hands-on' approach and visits each one of the 30 retail and food outlets twice a week.
He said: "I come from a marketing background and don't believe in only sitting in an office and relying on newspapers for information. I want to remain constantly in touch with people on the ground and stay tuned to the market. This is the only way to stay on top of the game."
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
I'm a person who is easily adaptable.
I enjoy sports especially tennis and cycling. I try and cycle 25 kilometers every morning in Amwaj.
I wear clothes from Massimo Dutti and Boggi. So from head to toe I'm dressed in brands owned by Azadea.
I'm reading a book titled Shift. It is a turnaround story of Nissan.
At Azadea we are passionate about recycling and use recycled paper bags in many of our stores.
