Ikea’s widely criticised airbrushing women out of the Saudi Arabian edition of its furniture catalogue is the latest in a cascade of cultural controversies and missteps involving western brands in the Middle East.
Big consumer-goods companies from Samsung to Starbucks have struggled to strike the right tone in the region, where a single social or religious faux pas can sabotage access to a retail market worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
As the political upheaval sweeping the Middle East makes foreign companies’ task harder still, many are struggling to balance the need to follow local norms with the risk of provoking criticism back home for kowtowing to oppressive practices.
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