Opportunistic Australian hospitality suppliers plan to step in where local companies fail to deliver the goods that meet Middle East hotels’ expectations.
A lack of fast, international-standard service from suppliers at a local level has resulted in a tendency for Middle East hoteliers to buy direct from global companies, according to Australia-based chef uniform supplier Global Chef’s CEO and founder Tim Grubi.
This has enabled Global Chef and other Australian companies to enter the regional market. “Hoteliers know that international suppliers doing business in the UAE have systems in place to accommodate export business. This benefits buyers because they are dealing with the world’s best suppliers rather than small, unprofessional operators,” says Grubi.
Advertisement
His comments were echoed by Australia’s Delta Hospitality Supplies managing director Tony McCarthy, who claims that the region can benefit from Australia’s mature tourism market and suppliers’ vast experience in supply chain, service offerings and innovative products and solutions.
Increasing competition
Furthermore, international suppliers can step in with creative solutions as many existing companies in the local market are just “order takers” with “insufficient knowledge to complement the wide product range,” says Australia-based Casualife Furniture International VP international operations Antony Guss.
Experienced procurement managers can go direct to Australian companies to bring projects in the Middle East a service guarantee.
For example, Casualife Furniture can manufacture custom-made designs and still offer a commercial warranty; an area where local suppliers fail according to Guss.
“We recently replaced 250 teak sun loungers for a hotel after they had been in place for just eight months. The property had bought from a local supplier that did not have a lifetime of industry experience to understand the necessary treatment that is required for the hot Middle East climate,” he explained.
Global Chef’s Grubi says being focused on one product, uniforms, gives the company the advantage of being able to tailor pricing and products to meet customers’ needs and the ability to respond quickly and accurately with quotes and samples.
“Delta Hospitality Supplies offers a range of 10,000 products and more than 1500 popular items are kept in stock,” says McCarthy, which means the company can often match the delivery times offered by suppliers based in the region.
Delivering the goods
While products made in China, for example, and branded by Australian companies can be delivered more quickly, if the product is manufactured in Australia, hotels should allow for a 28-day shipping period plus the manufacturing time, says Guss.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
