Just when the economy’s really picking up and companies look towards building momentum again to hit the recovery rollercoaster running, then Dubai Worldseems to throw a proverbialspanner in the works. However, it has been vehemently argued from the very top of UAE government that any financial difficulties faced by departments of Dubai World are independent from any reported national ‘crisis’ of the country and should not be treated as such.
Even during the worst periods of the economic slump, across the city Dubai and the UAE didn’t appear to be hit quite as hard as the rest of the world. It’s plain to see that Dubai, with its strategic position and enviable infrastructure now in place, will come through these uncertain times in a typically quick and dynamic fashion.
We at BAFCO believe the world of interior design and office furniture is an excellent indicator of real confidence in an economy. Which company boss who thinks his business might be going under would seriously be considering fitting out their office with the very best products the market has to offer?
During the half of 2009, BAFCO was experiencing the same lack of new business as any other interior and furniture firm and sales were admittedly very poor – amongst the worst in nearly 20 years of operation. However, orders are now pouring in, with three times as many sales in Q3 as the total sales for the first half of the year.
We think the rocketing sales figures are largely down to general confidence among company owners in their future here in the UAE. It is these forward thinking companies that will make the most of economic recovery and any resulting boom period. These are the same companies who are currently active in the market, taking advantage of lower sales and rental prices, looking for bigger premises in better locations and spending some of their savings fitting out their new spaces to position themselves above their competitors, attract the best new employees and keep the cream of their incumbent teams – who they have held onto during the leanest times.
One key point that stands out and kept us thinking is the concept of uniqueness, or simply put BAFCO’s ‘only’. This might sound like we are bragging but this is a step that we have to make in order to understand our strengths and leverage on them for our clients to understand.
1. We are a Specialist.
BAFCO is the ONLY dedicated company in the gulf region whose sole focus is developing integrated furniture, design and build solutions for corporate offices with two decades of experience.
2. Ergonomic Consultancy via Humanscale, USA
BAFCO is the ONLY UAE company that can deliver consultancy services on how to transform an ordinary office to a more ergonomic, healthier thus more productive work environment.
3. Integrity of our Promise.
Whether your project is for a small office furniture requirement or as large as the full design and build of Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University, you can rest assured that we keep our promise of delivering quality service and a small at every transaction with BAFCO.
4. Award Winning Partner
BAFCO is the ONLY company awarded by the UAE government as “Supplier of the Year” for a timely, efficient and cost effective products used for the entire back office operations of the Dubai Airport Terminal 3.
Our commitment to our client is an assurance of quality delivery for their projects provided by a team of well-trained and friendly professionals.
Last April 2009, the entire management team of BAFCO has attended a very insightful seminar. The course that we attended was called ‘Leadership in Times of Crisis’ for obvious reasons; the title reflects the anarchic nature of global businesses and stock markets.
In this seminar, Tony Buzan – a global leader in many fields – have worked with us to develop our own leadership skills, and thus enable each one on the leadership post and the entire BAFCO team to be among those who make fortunes in times such as the present.
We now see the current situation as a long standing forest that is suddenly threatened buy a violent storm or hurricane. Most people’s reaction is one of horror, despair and panic that such a long standing growth has been destroyed. There is however, another far more interesting, productive and creative perspective: that of the forest floor! For two to three hundred years the forest floor has been under the canopy of the giant trees, which almost totally blocked out sunlight. It is a serious time for businesses to gain tremendous growth and gain bigger share of the forest. The Mandarin Chinese word for crisis i written in two separate characters. The first: Danger. The second: Opportunity.
In this seminar, we have established that the opportunity is for us to grab. It is only those who can lead that a true leader in the market can emerge and grasp many opportunities that these crises offer. Aside from the leadership part, we have learned a fundamental tool for better comprehension, and that is MIND MAPPING.
Tomorrow, March 28, at almost exactly the same time tonight, we will witness the second participation of Dubai for the global campaign for climate change – EARTH HOUR.
We are asking everyone here in the UAE to switch off all non-essential lights from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on March 28, to send a message and join the campaign around the world that says we have the power to take action against global warming and by working together we can make a huge difference.
Earth Hour Website
The Walk, part of Dubai Properties’ Jumeirah Beach Residence development, will be the focal point for this year’s official Earth Hour activities in Dubai. Other activities will include switching off the exterior lighting at a number of Dubai landmarks, including the Burj Al Arab, Madinat Jumeirah, Emirates Towers, DIFC, and the offices of Dubai Holding and its entities, DEWA and du.
Last year, when Dubai became the first Arab city to participate in Earth Hour, electricity consumption in the city was reduced by more than 100,000kwH during the one hour power down.
Earth Hour, which began in Sydney, Australia in 2007, is now a worldwide environmental movement that will see up to one billion people turn off non-essential lighting and other electrical appliances. It will roll through 25 time zones, starting on New Zealand’s Chatham Islands and ending in the Pacific Time Zone.
Billed, by the WWF, as the largest mass participation effort ever, Earth Hour will embrace more than 1,500 cities in over 80 countries. In addition to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Fujeirah, in the UAE, lights will be switched off or dimmed in all the world’s major cities, including Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Mumbai, Delhi, Cape Town, Athens, Paris, Berlin, London, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Honolulu.
Individual action to curb climate change can be as simple as turning off a mobile phone charger when it is not in use, switching off the television or CD player at the wall, rather than leaving it on stand-by, turning off unused lights, or making sure office and home computers are completely shut down.
To participate and learn more, you can follow the following:
Construction and real estate up until the recession time was the golden industry here in the UAE. It is no wonder that the vast majority of the expatriate working class here in Dubai are working in a non-stereo typical workplace – the construction space.
Our workplace where site engineers, laborers, contruction workers work everyday is not the typical cubicle. Instead of computers, they work everyday with powertools to build the next road, thenexthotproperty, or in our case your next office.
The photos on the gallery above are taken from one of the on going projects that we have in Academic City. It will soon be the first e-university in the entire gulf, The Hamdan Bin Mohammed University.
As an active participant in the UAE Property Market, we have always heard the stories from our clients about their difficulties in getting an office space. They have waited for more than a month to get confirmations on a tiny office in Sheikh Zayed Road, Media City, Internet City, or various freezones here in the UAE.
The demand is just high enough and entrepreneurs are willing to wait for months for a confirmation in their office space. Free zone clusters continue to attract blue-chip tenants wishing to base their regional expansion in Dubai.
Average Rent for Office in Dubai: (as of Aug 2008)
Class A office space is Dh3,230 per sq m
Class B office space is Dh1,876 per sq m
Average Selling Price for Office Space in Dubai: (as of Aug 2008)
Class A office space is Dh23,680 per sq m
Class B office space is Dh15,080 per sq m
