In 1997, friends Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph sent a DVD in the mail to see if it would survive the trip intact. It did – and the idea for Netflix took a step closer to reality.
Just five years later, the company went public, selling shares at $1, and it wasn’t long before its movie-by-mail service had five million subscribers. For many businesses, this would be the peak of its success, but for Netflix, it was only the beginning.
The introduction of the company’s streaming service in 2007 would accelerate the process of Netflix becoming the global behemoth we know today. Within just two years of going fully digital, subscriber numbers surpassed 10 million.
Over the years that followed, Netflix would launch in more than 190 countries, from the UK and Ireland in 2012 to France, Germany and Switzerland in 2014, and the UAE and many more in 2016. In the time since, the EMEA region would overtake the US and Canada as the company’s largest, with over 77 million subscribers.
Netflix is not just a business success story. It is a cultural phenomenon. Now an integral part of the world’s film, television and streaming industries, it produces content in more than 20 languages and has won multiple Oscars, Emmys and more for its original productions.
A truly global operation, the streaming giant has offices in the US, UK, Canada, France, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Poland and South Korea, as well as several production hubs around the world.
Today, Netflix is ranked 115th in the Fortune 500 and is the second-largest entertainment and media company in the world by market cap behind the Walt Disney Company.
With more than 230 million people worldwide subscribing to its digital streaming service, the company generates revenues in excess of USD 30bn per year.
Launched in 2005, Sharaf DG took just five years to develop from an idea to one of the region’s leading electronic retailers. In the years since, it has gone from strength to strength, expanding from one store in Dubai to dozens across the wider UAE as well as Bahrain, Egypt and Oman – with more in the pipeline.
Offering over 25,000 products, from local manufacturers to international brands, Sharaf DG is now a household name in the UAE and the Middle East. The company prides itself on the expertise of its staff, and that’s undoubtedly the reason why so many customers come back again and again for advice and guidance, as well as electronics.
Sharaf DG aims to offer the widest range of electronics available at the best value in each of its locations. To bolster this claim, it offers a no-quibble ‘Product not available, claim free’ promise. Put simply, if an item is not in store, Sharaf DG will get it within 24 hours, or it’s free. This is on top of its Best Price Guarantee, which allows customers to claim back the difference if they find an item cheaper at another power retailer.
Initiatives like these contribute to Sharaf DG’s reputation for customer satisfaction and have gone a long way in securing the retailer numerous accolades over the years. As well as bagging the prestigious Superbrand prize every year from 2011 to 2017, the company has also scooped awards for Best Retailer, Most Admired Retailer, and Store of the Year.
Today, over one million customers visit Sharaf DG stores every month, cementing its place as one of the UAE’s most popular – not to mention most successful – retailers.
