Well I might lack business intelectuality But i want some one to tell me the business reason behind this phenomina:

1 tailor shop opens beside other 2000 nearby wall to wall tailor shops..

a super market open near another super market

glossary shops near each other

etc etc...

I know its nice to have same kind of shops in the same area BUT dont you thin they over do it????!!!

Just wondering!

Lets look at an example. I want to open a tailor shop. Now, in a nearby neighborhood, there are 4 tailorshops all in one area, or near-abouts. Would I make more customers notice me if I opened one right in their area or if I opened one in a new area, which is famous for restaurants? Of course, if I had huge money to buy loads of good equipments and top notch tailors, I could afford to open a shop anywhere and market myself ... but, if I don't have that much asset, then I rather just open one near other tailor shops and try to steal their business and establish myself.

Moral of the story: More people are succeptable to noticing a new shop of a kind, around where they usually shop at, for that particular item. Money being a barrier for location, as I mentioned earliar.

Shinoda has a point there ..
However, when we open one shop next to 20 other shops, you need to be really outstanding for a customer to notice you compared to the other shops.

It's a happening phenomina for sure...

Shinoda made a good point, as opening closer to other similiar business shops would be the easier way to advertise and steal unsatisfied customers.

Along with that, AP has a good point, how can this new shop stand out. Or even the other shops. I'd think a customer would usually stick to their own shop until they are unsatisfied. And it'd be easy for that customer to walk out instantly because they are aware there are other shops avaliable, which gives them an option of choice. In such cases the shop owner/employee would work harder to satisfy the customer compared to when there are no other shops.

So there are advantages for the customer in the far end. if we ignore the fact that a new customer would find it confusing when he/she comes to the area and finds 10 shops look all almost the same.

well 3, 4, 5 shops! BUT 10-15 shop??!!!
Shinoda I understand your point But arnt there limits for such thing
what I mean...you can say that this strategy it self have a blunt side but also a sharp cutting side!!

I've always wanted to understand what the reason was behind opening the same type of shop over and over again in the same area...
I have to say Shinoda's explanation made alot of sense, but just as AP mentioned, what about standing out??

I really still think this "follow-me" business we have going on in Oman is just too stupid. Because instead of expanding or provinding that same service elsewhere they would rather all cluster up in one place, hence making all the customers crowd that place.

Besides all that, I feel that Omanis in particular are hard to convince when it comes to a new product or shop or service, compared to other neighbouring nationalities, let alone the westerners. Others are more than happy to try, they are more willing to go through the trial and error that a customer should go through to know whats best for him. Now certainly tailors out of all other businesses are not any better at the forementioned. I find it that once our people are accustomed to a certain tailor, they wouldn't give that up if hell freezes over! :)

a good example of what you are talking about is concentrating on muscat as a commercial area .. we have no malls, no cinams (or at least advanced ones), no classy resturants outside of muscat. Why?? because all the businesses are already in muscat .. but cummon, I know that the youth of villages in Oman are dying to have half of the entertainment that are already in muscat!!

This action has two side effects, the way of opening similar shop in the same place will effect you of getting customers. But, here you should force yourself on the other, there are many ways to get customers.

The other side will be more for customer where there is one line to visit the same type of shops, where its an easy way to compare prices, for an example the computer street in Ruwi, the one near Ruwi Cinema.