Ron McFarlandのPersonal Journey (41) : キャナリー諸島

ヨーロッパの避寒地を代表するスペインのキャナリー諸島でセミナー。
日本で言えば、冬に石垣島でセミナー！！！ちょっと違うけど、羨ましい。

小さな島でセミナーするほどトラック売れるの？本土で開くセミナーに来てもらえばいいではないの。

まあ、ボーナスの一種かもしれません？

私も営業会議をラスベガスでやったことがあります。しかも、僅かですがギャンブルの費用も会社持ちで。

こういうこともなきゃぁね。

Off the coast of Morocco to the west are the Canary Islands. Those islands are part of Spain, and that is the place Columbus stopped on his way to discover America. There are several islands, but two main islands, Grand Canaria and Tenerefe. The economy evolves around tourism for northern Europeans wanting to get out of the cold and to get in some relaxing sunshine.

I gave several seminars there, as the Canary Islands had no European restrictions in terms of imports and safety/emission regulations. Unfortunately, only Spanish is spoken there except around the tourist areas in the south of both of those two islands. Much like Hawaii, the people are very relaxed and casual and not as industrious as their northern colleagues.



Sales Training with a beautiful German lady who was fluent in Spanish, March 1988

齋藤信幸のロングステイはここ

Ron McFarlandのPersonal Journey (40) : エジプト

世界80か国を旅したRonさん。

海外営業は通常は地域別の組織になるので、シンガポールとマレーシア担当とか、インド担当といったことになり、80か国もの国に行くことはまずありません。

いすゞ自動車の「海外販売拠点のトレーニング」という仕事を自分から会社に提案・実現させたからこそ成しえたこととといえます。

さて、今回はエジプト。観光地としてはメディアにときどき登場しますが、Ronさんの印象に残ったのは？

Egypt

一度行ったら忘れられない国、ブランド重視の国民性
Egypt is one of those countries that you never forget if you go there. Isuzu Motors and General Motors had a vehicle assembly joint venture there, which serviced about eight dealers. One of the dealers, Monsour Chevrolet, dominated the market and probably still does today. The same vehicle was sold under the Isuzu name, Chevrolet name and Bedford name. The Egyptians are very loyal to brands, dealers and individuals. Therefore, the name and contact are more important than the product itself.
I stayed at the Minna House Hotel outside of Cairo in Giza, right at the foot of the pyramids. That is the famous hotel that the Americans and British planned the African campaign in World War II. I jogged around the pyramids every morning before going to work. I will never forget it.



Minna House Hotel, Giza Egypt, December 1987



Center of Cairo

The history there can be traced back 7,000 years, before any known religion. The country of Egypt can be traced back 5,000 years. Needless to say, just wandering around those ruins and structures makes your mind run wild with fascination as to life way back then.



Outside the Egyptian Museum, Cairo



The Sphinx, Giza Egypt

アッパー・エジプト、ロウアー・エジプトとは？
Egypt is a country that lives off of one river, the Nile. The country gets very little rain and all life surrounds the Nile. One interesting thing about Egypt is they talk in terms of “Upper Egypt” and “Lower Egypt”. Upper is not north. It is south. Lower is not south. It is north. The reason being is that the Nile flows into Egypt from Sudan in the south and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. I was to travel to Egypt quite a few times over the years.

「齋藤信幸のロングステイ」はここ

Ron McFarlandのPersonal Journey (39) : UAE（アラブ首長国連邦）

このPersonal Journeyは、私の友人のRon McFarlandが書いた自叙伝です。

さて、今回の記事はUAE。サッカーファンにとっては、アジアの強豪国の一つと映る。

最近のニュースは、「2023年6月から法人税を導入すると発表した」というニュース。タックスヘブンは、ケイマン諸島だけではないんだ！

これまでUAEは、実質的に法人税ゼロを掲げ、外国企業誘致の際のインセンティブの1つとしてきた。

予定されている税率9％。日本に比べるとまだまだ低い。課税対象となるのは年間所得が日本円で約1,163万円を超えるUAE国内の企業で、個人所得は課税対象外。UAE国内でビジネスを行っていない外国投資家や、投資に対するキャピタルゲインと配当についても対象外。国内外のお金持ちは困らない政策だ！！

また、内戦が続くイエメンを巡り、政権側を支援するUAEは、国内に侵入したドローン3機を迎撃したと発表。

イエメンではUAEとサウジアラビアが支援する政権側と、イランが支援する反政府勢力、フーシ派との間で6年以上にわたって内戦が続いている。今年に入り、UAEはミサイルやドローンによる攻撃を繰り返し受けている。一方で、ペルシャ湾を隔ててイランと対峙するUAEは、2020年以来、イランの脅威の前に、対立していたイスラエルとの国交正常化に動き出した。

まだまだきな臭い中東地域。法人税がなくても、企業が進出するにはリスクが大きい。

さて、Ron-sanが訪問した1987年のUAEはどのようなところだったのか。

In 1987, I gave sales training in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). I had provided training in the big Middle East countries of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait but nowhere else. Well, the smaller countries like Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE itself wanted training.

Dubai had, and probably still has, the best living standard in the Middle East, and Isuzu Motors, along with most companies from the west, have regional offices there. We had seminars for the region there, and people were coming in from all over the Middle East. We set up four seminars, two basic sales seminars, one seminar specifically for selling heavy trucks and sales management for the managers in the region. It was a mixed group and a very enjoyable two weeks in Dubai. I was so used to packing my bag and moving every 4-5 days that it was nice to stay in the same place and let the participants come to me. That was the first of many seminars in Dubai. In recent times, Dubai has become quite a boom town and has developed a tourist business.



Sales Management and Role Playing in Dubai, UAE July 1987



Frisby, Fernandez, Mohadeem and other managers, Dubai, UAE July 1987

Ron McFarlandのPersonal Journey (38) :象牙海岸ってどこ？

このPersonal Journeyは、私の友人のRon McFarlandが書いた自叙伝です。

今回のRonさんの出張先はフランスの植民地だった象牙海岸。
現在のコートジボワール。ついにアフリカ西海岸まで行ったRonさん。しかも1987年の話です。

よくよく考えればあたりまえですが、トラックのマーケットは世界中にありますね。

ちなみに、『FACTFULNESS』（日経BP、ハンス・ロスリング他著、上杉周作・関美和訳）によると、
現在、コートジボワールはカメルーンとともにレベル２の下位、寿命は60歳＋と短い。

The Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast is the first West African country I had ever been to. I gave a basic sales seminar there. The country was not as poor as you may think at that time. It has a lot of water and can grow a great deal of tropical crops. Also, it has minerals and other raw materials, which are mainly exported to Europe.

It is one of the original French territories, and the official language is French. In that region, most of the countries use French as the official language. Nigeria and Cameroon are half English and half French depending on the region of the country.

　

Sales Training in the Ivory Coast in French, June 1987