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Europe will stagnate but Middle East earmarked for growth, says vice president of Shaw

UAE: A strengthening of the US dollar has made the GCC increasingly attractive as an export market, confirmed John Davis, vice president of the US-based Shaw Industries, one of the world’s largest carpet manufacturers, during a recent trip to Dubai.

“We’re faced with some pretty difficult times globally,” he maintained. “Of course, our business is global, but our largest market is our home market, which is particularly difficult at this time. Our dollar has gained a lot of strength in a short amount of time, which has hurt us in many of our important export markets.

“Fortunately, in the Middle East, that’s not an issue because our currencies are pegged. In addition, this region has remained relatively active. Other regions, such as the EU, the UK and Australia, are in a virtual recession now, so things are quite difficult there. Asia Pacific is being affected as well, although not as much as the previously mentioned markets.”

As a result, the Middle East is one of the few regions earmarked for growth this year, Davis explained. “The Middle East is an area that we are looking to continue to grow and develop during 2009, whereas in these other markets we’ll be happy to just hang on to what we’ve got. And we’ll probably not even do that in say Europe or the UK; they’re having a real tough go at the moment.

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“What we must remember is this too will pass. Sooner, rather than later, I hope,” he said.

In testing times, the pressure is on companies to offer increased value and innovation, he continued. “There’s not a lot you can do about currency, obviously, so what you have to do is provide products on the market that people are willing to pay a little more money for.

“That starts with what they look like in terms of style and design. In the last four or five years, we’ve really gained a lot of recognition for being a design leader, especially in modular carpet or carpet tiles, which is our fastest growing segment,” Davis said.