Thursday, October 08, 2009
Disfigured: When stats in Saudi become comical than true
Statistics say that Saudis are high on perfumes, chewing gums and viagra. And they don't sleep in the same room with their wives.
I say: Highly misleading!
Ali Saad Al Mosa of Arab News took a jab (and so did I) on the following 'unreliable' consumer stats which are really funnier than believable.I say: Highly misleading!
According to a marketing report, Saudis buy about 50 million shumaghs every year.
Last year, Saudis spent about $1 billion on the purchase of shumaghs (the male head dress) — including 16 million sold on Eid night alone.
There are currently around 9.3 million male Saudis as per Saudi Central Department of Statistics and Information. Based on the above statistics, all of the male Saudis in Saudi Arabia bought around 2 shumaghs last Eid. I asked my officemates whether they think it's true and they all disagreed. All of them own at least two shugmahs but none of them bought even a guthra this Eid.
Saudis spend about SR5 billion annually on perfumes and this includes SR1.5 billion on perfumes for men.
Mosa wrote: As my sense of smell is by far the best sense I have, I will also testify that I have very rarely smelt perfume on men.
I think perhaps the figures meant the sale of perfumes and cosmetics in Saudi Arabia. US-Saudi Business Council reported in 2006 that 5.25 million Riyals were spent on perfumes and cosmetics mostly by women than men. Reportedly in 2006, men spent only SAR 112 million for personal care items that included French, China and US-made perfumes.
Half of married Saudi men do not sleep with their wives in the same room and prefer to sleep in separate rooms.
Mosa coyingly wrote: "This is happening at a time when men allegedly spend SR1.5 billion on perfumes."
I asked the opinion of my Saudi officemates about this and he said that there is 'some truth' to it. He has married friends who sleep in separate rooms.
I don't actually believe that it's true. I'm more perflexed than convinced. If indeed this behavior among Saudi couples is true, I can only guess that it's founded on religious belief.
Saudi citizens every year spend about SR100 million on chewing gum, which is then spat out on roads or pavements.
I tend to disagree with this one because I see more cigarette butts on the road than used chewing gums. Mosa wrote: Paradoxically, Singapore collects about $25 million annually from fines for chewing gum thrown away on streets.
Pretty soon, I guess, Saudi Arabia will follow Singapore and start flogging chewing gum vandals.
Saudis top the entire world in the consumption of tea and coffee.
Did you know that coffee was thought to have been first brewed by the Arabs? Nonetheless, I think Saudis are more tea drinkers than coffee drinkers. Based on coffee-statistics.com (yes, there is such a website!), US consume 146 billion cups of coffee annually, putting them on top of the list.
Saudis also top the world in the consumption of Viagra, spending about SR150 million on it annually.
No comment.
I think these statistics are merely for marketing purposes -- lopsided, unverifiable and very untrue. Worthy in the comic page for entertainment!
i am pretty sure that this statistics are accurate. sa tea , masmahaba pa ata ang time sa tea kaysa work :);sa perfume, dinadaan nila sa pabango na lng para pag nag beso beso amoy new bath; sa marriage ask ko nga mga kasama kong Arabo.
siguro baka yun totoo sa mga yan ay yun about perfume hehehe,ang babantot kasi nila e hehehe... I'm surprised to find out na mahilig din pala sa tea ang mga Arabo??? so anong proof na hindi totoo na nagta top ang Saudi sa Viagra?? hindi na ba nila kailangan yun? hehehe, totoo ba na maraming gay sa kanila??? oooppps chismis yata to? hehehe, balita ko lang naman pero di ako naniniwala hanggang walang proof naks naman hehehe
Nebz- ako si Sards sorry di na ako nakapagpalit ng anyo hehehe
I think Arabs are the fondest consumers of tea. Here in UAE, I think it would be true for cosmetics and perfumes. And much spending, too, for jewelries and bags, for women.
what about this:
" Around 10 Million perfumes were spent by over a million OFW's in Saudi Arabia in the year 2008? "
Mas maniniwala ako dyan. The figures are very high, and maybe full of exaggerations. and yes, funny.
kulang pa ba ang spicy foods? kelangan pa nilang mag-viagra???
i don't think so!!!
It's so stereotypical of Missy to say that Saudis are 'Mabantot'. So far in my almost a decade stay here in KSA, I've never met a Saudi who is not well dressed and Mabantot. Meron naman siguro iilan ilan depende kung BADO or kung ang trabaho ay pawisan palagi. Parang sa Pilipino din, may mga mababaho meron namang hindi. But generally, not all are mabaho. In fact, ang pinaka mabantot lang naman dito ay ang mga Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi ang mga ilan ilang mga kabayan.
mga komedyante pala dyan? Viagra? ewwww!
pabango? baka to offset baho kilikili, hahaha
seperate beds? Sure true yan, lalo na many other wives get jealous, hikhikhik
this is more of a joke than reality.Nice posts, nebz!
Napangiti ako nu'ng statistics tungkol sa sales ng shumaghs. U
Noon pang may subject akong stat, may pag-aalinlangan akong lubusang paniwalaan ang mga scientific at mathematical explanations ng Statistics. Huh!
Sa perfume naman, narinig ko nga sa isang kakilala rito na galing nang KSA, pagpasok pa lang daw sa perfume shop sa Saudi, sini-spray na ang pabango sa mga customers. Dito kasi sa Au, hindi ko pa naranasan ang papaliguan (exaggeration) ako ng perfume! Baka naman tumaas ang gamit ng mga pabango dahil sa consumption ng mga testers, Kuya Nebz?
@RJ
What you heard is really true na ini spray na lang ang perfumes. In Dammam, you can buy an original perfumes lower than the market price. There's a place here near the Big Mosque (Kabir Masjid) na maraming perfume shops na tinatawag nilang perfume area.
May binibinta din silang testers at originals. Testers are lower in price, pareho ang bottle iba lang ang packaging. Signatured perfumes are priced higher pero kung compare mo sa market price mababa ng mga 20-30%.
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