Back in August we posted a report titled "Apple is Planning to Open their First Middle Eastern Store in Dubai." The big news then was that Apple had been granted an exemption from foreign ownership laws in the United Arab Emirates that would allow Apple to own 100 percent control of operations in that country. Today's news builds on that story. A new published retail study has surfaced in Gulf News today stating that Apple has outranked Samsung as the leading brand with the strongest connection with consumers in the UAE.

The UAE MBLM Brand Intimacy 2015 Report, which has been released for the first time, ranked Apple as the most intimate brand in the UAE, followed by Lexus and Samsung placing second and third, respectively. The MBLM study was conducted to understand the emotional bonds between consumers and brands.

William Shintani, partner at MBLM, stated that "This report is based on quantitative research among consumers where our goal was to measure, quantify and better understand how emotions impact brand relationships and further dimension which brands are most successful at creating these bonds.

Shintani added that "The significance of the research findings is that intimate brands make business sense. The top ten most intimate brands outperform established financial indices for both revenue and profit growth over ten years. These brands also command a price premium, enjoying more financial resilience than brands in the same industries that are not intimate."

Top 10 most intimate brands in UAE

1. Apple

2. Lexus

3. Samsung

4. Mercedes

5. Dove

6. Starbucks

7. Sony

8, ADCB

9. Google

10. Ikea

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