Hassan A. Khatib

The market in KSA has recently been a platform for several crises, which have had a significant influence on the operations as well as the reputation of big names in various industries.

The partial collapse of one big desert chain in KSA has been the subject of notorious media publicity in the recent weeks, particularly that the aforementioned chain was considered till recently an unprecedent success story which was associated with intensive and continuous marketing campaigns and a legacy thought of as “unbeatable”.

Regardless of the preliminary and declared reasons and factors that led to the recent financial and operational failures of the aforementioned companies, the keywords which should be mentioned and focused on in this context are strategy, planning, vision, mission, and governance.

One of the easiest missions to achieve in our current era is quick success, particularly in the case of brands and companies that resort to and rely heavily on social media publicity. Nowadays, major social media figures (i.e: YouTubers and influencers who have high reach) are playing a major role in marketing campaigns, and relying on those internet personas has become, in certain industries, the best strategy to realize quick success and exposure.

However, there is a difference between success and continuity, which brings us back to the traditional and trivial questions that any company operating in the current market should contemplate and successfully answer to attain stability and thrive in the market.

What is our vision? What is our mission? What are the preset future goals? Did we build a robust business strategy and roadmaps that will help us tangibly achieve these goals and objectives?  What about the governance framework/structure that we have? Does it allow our company to operate as a dynamic and well-integrated business structure? Did we implement a strong digital platform through which our different departments can coordinate efficiently?

These questions represent a sample of a comprehensive checklist that needs to be fulfilled for any successful company nowadays. These are not only prerequisites for companies planning to IPO or achieving a merger and acquisition transaction, but they also represent milestones that need to be there for any entity planning to thrive through the challenging conditions of the market.

Industries and markets are acting like quicksand in our era. Hence, unplanned growth is dangerous. When a sudden surge in demand drives your success or is solely based on exceptional and accelerated marketing campaigns, it can create excessive pressure on operations and staff (which could result in negative impacts on product quality), and can push management to take on large, complex projects without having the skill set or technology to deliver them effectively. These risks can result in serious dangers, and the recent failure of the Big names, which were thought to have an unbreakable legacy, is a lesson to learn from.

* Associate Director, Transaction Services

KPMG Professional Services

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