Opening The UAE Market For A Leading Indian Jewellery Brand
Expanding a successful business into a new country or territory can be a challenge. Understanding the business climate, legal requirements, market dynamics, customer preferences and talent landscape are all part of the challenge. Read on to see how we partnered with this large high end retail chain to help them successfully enter the Dubai market which will be the launch pad for further expansion into the GCC and MENA regions.
A leading jewellery brand from India was interested in attracting the custom of the diaspora in the UAE by setting up a directly managed chain of retail stores under its own name. However, the business did not have a deep understanding of the labour market and HR practices in the region, a factor critical in the setup of the business. Our Client was keen on hitting the ground running, while bringing the HR capabilities up to world class standards – A benchmark the group aspires to across their global operations. Daksada was approached as their preferred Human Resources Consulting partner.
Our proposal and solution to the Client was above and beyond the setup of the HR function in the UAE. We helped with the business setup process of the Investment Company in the Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZA) and registered the main-land company to manage the retail stores. We partnered with the International Operations team based in India in setting up the office and in identifying the location of the retail store. We took the next step and co-ordinated the process of appointing a designer and fabricator to complete the interiors of the showroom. We took on the mantle of recruiting some of the team members for the retail and backend operations and onboarded everyone (including those moving from India) with special focus on the labour practices in the UAE. The necessary compliances including WPS and the ongoing management of the HR function are part of our mandate. We worked closely with the HR Leadership team in India to draft an Human Resources Policy manual to be used by the team. To ensure compensation at the right levels, we initiated a Compensation Benchmark study and then used the same to finalise the salary bands for the retail staff. We worked with the commercial teams to prepare the manpower budget as a necessary component of the multi-year business plan for the UAE market.
The Client was able to setup the business in record time despite the issues created by the worldwide pandemic. The recruitment and onboarding of the retail and operations teams and the management of the compliance under local Labour Laws and the creation of the manpower multi-year plan lent solidity to the business and gave the confidence of breaking even in the near term as the management team was able to concentrate on the business rather than on operational and compliance issues.
- Multinational Corporations; Regional Businesses; Family Owned Groups;
- Talent Management, Human Capital Solutions
- M K Moorthi