Search: “ghanim”

I don’t know how accurate this information is since it was posted as a comment by a reader of the blog but according to him the IKEA owners are in dispute with the Avenues management due to the new outlet of Alghanim at the Avenues. Alghanim launched a new concept store right across from IKEA where they are selling electronics AND furniture. The agreement between IKEA and the Avenues is that they should be the only furniture outlet in the mall.

According to the same reader a fight has also started between Carrefour and IKEA against the Avenues management. Neither Carrefour nor IKEA are willing to accept the fact that their customers now have to pay for parking.

Finally just some more info. Carrefour paid KD3.5 per square meter, IKEA paid KD4.5 while Alghanim paid KD10 per square meter for their store.

Again, I don’t know how accurate the information above is but it sounds plausible.

Marzouq and I had a chance to check out InfoConnect before the doors open to public tomorrow:

The good:
Qualitynet is offering huge price cuts in addition to ‘extras’ that will only be offered when you subscribe/renew at InfoConnect. In addition to a ‘Sky DSL’ service which possibly means two way satellite service (as UCC). They also are offering a raffle for a Mini (might be one of the ‘extras’) with Al-Ghanim.

TechSys has a ton of new products from Planet and Silverstone, from HTPC/High-End cases, quiet/ultra-powerful power supplies to affordable networking products like smart switches and ip-cameras.

Lastly, E-Government is in full effect this year; Bahrain and Oman’s governments showing off their e-capabilities alongside Kuwait’s MOI, MOC and PACI. There are Several Kiosks, payment devices and even a decked out BMW Police Car on display.

The bad:
No Zain (they have their own event in April?), No Zajil, No Fasttelco, and not even Wasel (new Internet Company). For those looking to get a new deal on their EGO or DSL lines… You might be out of luck with the big players sitting it out. However, Zajil has already slashed prices with 3mb going for less than 850kd for a year’s subscription.

The ugly:
Aside from the cheaper yet still over-inflated pricing on the same old items… There is not much that InfoConnect has to offer. Without the Internet companies using February as a time to introduce their new offerings… you might as well take a stroll down any Ibn Khaldoun for the same experience.

The reality is that InfoConnect is a second rate bazaar with local stores trying to unload the remaining stock from their warehouse. Everyone from ElectroZan, Yousifi, Al-Ghanim Electronics and Sony are busy selling Televisions and DVD players than showing off new technology.

On the bright side, this might be a good chance to pick up that TV you have been thinking about. In addition to the electronics… there is an endless supply of Phone stores, two bit computer shops and Chinese stands selling items which can probably be found for cheaper in Hawalli.

I put up some pictures on my Flickr page [here].

-Posted by K

I will be posting tomorrow the ISP cost comparison.

I just got to Al Ghanim and am waiting to pick up the keys to the new 2008 Cadillac CTS. They are keeping it with me for the weekend so I can review it. Its been a while since I last reviewd a car so it should be fun. (Posted from my Nokia E61i)

The Stallion commented in my previous Kuwait motor show post that Fouad Al-Ghanim will be bringing Spyker to Kuwait and they will have cars at the exhibition. I checked the Spyker website and it confirms that they WILL be at the exhibition so thats going to be pretty cool. [Link]

Someone just told me that Al-Sayer Al-Ghanim are launching a new store in Kuwait thats similar in concept to The Home Depot in the US. Supposedly its going to be called “Platform” and they will be launching some time mid this month. I think its about time someone is opening a decent home improvement place here in Kuwait, the only thing we have is Ace Hardware but it really doesn’t have a lot of things.

I’ve had my eye on the Sonos digital music system for awhile now but I never bought it because I simply don’t listen to music at home. Today while I was at Alghanim Electronics I saw the device in person for the first time and it actually looks as pretty as in the pictures.

I don’t know how long they’ve been selling it for since I don’t frequent Alghanim, but the Sonos was priced pretty expensive at KD436. The newer and larger bundle on Amazon costs only KD288.

The Forbes list is out and its interesting to see Kuwait and Lebanon both on the list although to be honest I was expecting more Kuwaitis on the list:

Rank 52
Nasser Al-Kharafi & family (Kuwait)
Worth 11.5 billion Dollars

Rank 407
Najib Mikati (Lebanon)
Worth 2.3 billion Dollars

Rank 407
Taha Mikati (Lebanon)
Worth 2.3 billion Dollars

Rank 618
Bassam Alghanim (Kuwait)
Worth 1.6 billion Dollars

Rank 618
Kutayba Alghanim (Kuwait)
Worth 1.6 billion Dollars

Rank 618
Fahd Hariri (Lebanon)
Worth 1.6 billion Dollars

Rank 717
Mohamed Al-Bahar (Kuwait)
Worth 1.4 billion Dollars

Rank 891
Nazek Hariri (Lebanon)
Worth 1 billion Dollars

For the full list of billionaires click [Here]

Thanks cajie

As you probably noticed I have a new sponsor, Al Ghalia Group who are based in Bahrain. This means I now have a total of 5 banners on my blog which I won’t deny is a lot. I have tried my best not to clutter up the blog too much with banners and this is honestly the best I can do.

Like you I would rather this blog had no banners at all but the banners are there for a reason… they provide me with extra income. I understand these banners decrease the aesthetics of the blog but the money is actually pushing me to continue blogging.

Blogging daily is difficult, its a lot of pressure and it takes time. I currently try to post a minimum of 3 posts a day so I could remain consistent. If I didn’t have the income coming in from the banners I might have stopped blogging ages ago or at least I would have stopped posting as often.

Now money usually is not a comfortable subject to discuss but this is a blog and I think its important for me to be as open as I can with my readers.

How much money am I making? Well I have decided to share with everyone a PDF file I send to people who request information on advertising on the blog. Its my rate card and you can download it by clicking [Here]. I wasn’t sure if I should make this information public or not but I figured if I was a reader I would be curious to know how much money this blog is making the same way I am curious to know how much money engadet or digg make. Well as you can see from the rate card this blog is currently making nearly $3000 a month. This is a good chunk of cash and I hope now everyone understands why I have so many banners here.

I have not sold out. Just because I am making money from the blog doesn’t mean I have sold out. All I am doing is cashing in on my 15 minutes of fame. When something sucks I will still say it sucks and when something is good I will still say its good.

Anyway it feels awkward sharing this information but I hope everyone especially my long time readers understand the reason for all these banners. Thank you!

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update: If anyone has any questions you can ask by leaving a comment below and I will reply to it.

One reader, Biohazard asked an important question which is Can I bash a sponsors product? The answer is simply no. When Alghanim Automotive were my sponsors I told them that if a cars they lent me to test drive sucked then I would post negative stuff about it. So what they did was just lend me their best cars. Now though what I do is tell my sponsors that if they lend me a product to try out and it turns out to suck I will just not mention the product at all. This way they aren’t afraid to send me more stuff to try out.

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update 2: I changed the location of the new banner because of complaints. If you prefer the new location over the previous one please leave a comment below. In case you missed it here is a screen shot of the previous location. [Screen Shot]

As some of you might have noticed I have a new sponsor, Waa7a.com. They will be replacing Al-Ghanim Automotive who had been with me since April of last year.

Waa7a is a restaurant database and review site. Its all user generated content so if there is a restaurant thats not listed you can add it and if there is a restaurant you want to rate and review you can do so. Someone for example gave Hard Rock Cafe a positive review which I disagreed with so I wrote another review that reflected my experience which was negative one. Its a pretty cool idea and should be even cooler once a lot more people start posting their reviews.

The site design and features are still being adjusted and fine tuned so if anyone has any feedback you can email it to them or leave it below in the comments. I am posting reviews there under the name “Mark” and so far I think I have only 5 or 6 reviews.

So if you feel like writing reviews and rating restaurants then check out Waa7a.com

Yeah I know I just posted that I wouldn’t post today but then I remembered I needed to post this. LG have a 71inch plasma TV with home theater setup thats gold plated. Its currently displayed at their Salmiya branch adjacent to Alghanim Electronics. Its a really ugly setup as you can see and in person it also looks pretty cheap.

Can you guess how much it costs?

The LG setup you see in the picture above costs KD25,000! Its just ridiculous, not only that but its a display model. If I was the store manager I wouldn’t have a KD25,000 TV on display where everyone can come in and touch it, that would depreciate its value. If I a buyer on the other hand and was planning on splashing out KD25,000 I wouldn’t want a display model.. I wouldn’t want an LG either!

Alghanim Automotive sent me an email today informing me that they will be launching three cars tomorrow. The three new cars are the new Lumina, the new Caprice and the new Epica. All the car models will be on display including the S, SS and Royale versions. I will probably be going so I can check out the new Lumina SS. Here are some pictures they sent me. [1] [2] [3]

My contact at Alghanim Automotive sent me the following email to publish on the blog:

Hey, some news for you and your audience. The new Lumina’s and all new Caprice’s are in Kuwait!! You know how popular with Kuwaitis these cars are. They will be launched in the next couple of weeks all over Kuwait. Not only that, there is a new Epica and the new SUV that just came out, the Captiva. The Captiva will arrive end of December and is a very sexy SUV. I tried the new Lumina and OMG… it’s a freakin’ monster under the hood. The buttons, dials, and inside trim quality is so far above what you’re used. Honestly, it’s German level stuff (and im not talking VW) inside and outside. The time of big, ugly, floaty, gas guzzling American cars is way over. We’re planning to take on Audi A6 with the Caprice.

Here are pictures he attached to the email.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8

I was at Marina Mall yesterday meeting up with a friend when I noticed Alghanim Automotive (my sponsors) had the Escalade EXT on display right outside Virgin. The EXT was my favorite version of the old Escalade and I didn’t know the new one was out yet in Kuwait. So I emailed my contact at Alghanim and asked him about the price and this is what I found out. The Escalade EXT costs KD18,500 and if you trade in your car you get 500KD back. Also the regular Escalade (ie: not pickup) which I previously took out for a drive now costs KD19,500 and according to my contact the price is negotiable. Thats around KD1,500 cheaper then when I reviewed it which is pretty cool but still way out of my league.

Yesterday I was invited for another test drive by Alghanim Automotive. I was hoping they would give me some small crappy car so I could give it a bad review and show everyone that if the car sucked I would say it sucked. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Yesterday I took the new Cadillac BLS for a drive and it was far from being crappy.

I picked up a gorgeous silver top of the line BLS from the dealer and drove down to the Gulf Road. The BLS is the smallest car Cadillac makes and the one I drove came with a V6 2.8L Turbo engine pumping out 250HP so it was fast. As soon as I hit the Gulf Road I got a call from a friend who had spotted me. He asked me if I was turning into Jermey Clarkson and he then asked what car I was driving since it looked really cool. Now this came from someone who drives an M3 so you can imagine how good the car must look. Pictures actually don’t do justice to the hard edged geometrically cut car so you need to see it in person to really appreciate its beauty.

I closed the phone with my friend and blasted down the Gulf Road. The Cadillac BLS I was driving came with a 6-speed automatic and paddle shift. I am used to the F1 style paddle shift where you use your fingers to change gear but the Cadillac BLS is the one where you use your thumbs instead. It felt awkward at first but I quickly got the hang of it. The interior seems to follow the styling cues of the new Cadillac Escalade which is a really good thing since it means its very un-American. Everything felt very plush and sophisticated and I just love that in a car.

After a long drive I parked the car and took some shots of the exterior and interior. When I was done I drove back to the dealership and handed them the keys. Cadillac really have come a long way when it comes to aesthetics. There is no other car in the market that looks like a Cadillac, its got a style all on its own. The only downside I could think of with the BLS is the engine sound. I would have preferred a louder grunt from a 250HP engine but I guess many people would rather have a quiet engine than a loud one.

The price of the fully loaded Cadillac BLS is KD11,995 which makes its more affordable than a similarly specced BMW or Mercedes. Its a pretty cool car for a sedan.

I just want to mention that the site now has two banners. Other then our main sponsor Alghanim Automotive we have a new sponsor, Dent Xpress. The new banner is located at the end of the sidebar and is compact and unobtrusive.

Dent Xpress specialize in automotive dent repair using the latest paintless dent repair techniques. They are also very quick and will fix your dent while you wait. I will be passing by them probably next week to check out the place but for now if you need more information just click on their banner or go to dentxpress.com