 Al-Hafez Trading is Shell’s Distributor for Lubricants in Kuwait and has been for more than 40 years. With the growth in Kuwait’s economy, the lubricants business has also grown substantially and Al-Hafez Trading has moved into a 40,000 square foot warehouse and office complex from which it now manages its business activities in Kuwait. The office complex is also home to two of Shell’s Sales Managers, who are working on the ground in Kuwait alongside Al-Hafez Trading staff to increase Shell’s share of the lubricants market in Kuwait. Habib Bahbahani, Proprietor of Al-Hafez Trading, explains, “I began my relationship with Shell in 1963 when I sold Shell Chemicals’ products here in Kuwait. Following this, I was appointed as Distributor for Shell Lubricants in Kuwait. “Al-Hafez Trading has its own sales force for Shell products, which is led by my son, Anwar. The company distributes the full range of Shell Lubricants for both the automotive and industrial markets, including lubricants, greases, turbine and gear oils and hydraulic fluids. We also assist Shell Marine Products in the supply of marine lubricants to vessels calling at Kuwait’s port. “We supply Shell Lubricants in one and four litre containers, as well as 200 litre drums for our industrial customers and fleet operators. “The best selling automotive lubricant is SSPMO [Shell Super Plus Motor Oil], and we also distribute Shell Helix to the top end of the motor trade for luxury cars such as Ferrari and Maserati. “The majority of our sales are to smaller sales outlets, such as puncture shops, car service centres and the many cooperative societies in Kuwait.” Mr Bahbahani goes on to say, “To assist Al-Hafez in the growth of its business, which includes the distribution of pharmaceutical and consumer products in Kuwait, we have constructed a custom-designed building of 40,000 square feet, which consists of both warehouse and office space. Here we are able to store as much as 1.2 million litres of Shell Lubricants in packs of all sizes. “The office space has been designed to accommodate our staff and company representatives. The two Shell Sales Managers have also been given an office in our building so that we can all work more closely together. “Al-Hafez Trading receives tremendous support from Shell’s Regional Oil Products Office in Dubai. Now that we have the Shell Sales Managers, Jagadish Babu and Annaji Rao, working here with us we have been able to improve our training, sales and promotional activities in Kuwait. Jagadish and Annaji have also provided us with technical support and HSE [Health, Safety & Environment] training. “Recently, we held a major promotion of Shell Rimula, Rotella and SSPMO for our customers in the transport business. This delivered a substantial increase in sales, of some 78 per cent, during the two months of the promotion. This success was, in fact, recognised by Shell’s Oil Products business as an outstanding achievement. “An extensive branding campaign was carried out during 2004 to improve Shell’s brand visibility and awareness of Shell products in Kuwait. This involved the installation of large signs at shops and cooperatives selling Shell products and the provision of more visible product display units inside customers’ premises. Leaflets and brochures were distributed to automotive dealers and car centres to further promote the Shell brand amongst OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] such as Mercedes, Mann Trucks, Volvo and others. “As a result of the appointment of Annaji Rao, our sales of industrial lubricants have shown steady growth with sales increasing by more than 50 per cent in some grades and overall growth is beyond 25 per cent, a terrific result.” He concludes, “Sales of SSPMO in the new plastic containers continue to grow and we recorded a 22 per cent growth in sales in 2004. So the lubricants business, for both Shell and for Al-Hafez Trading, is very good at the moment and I hope this will continue for a long time into the future.”
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