Casablanca is Building a Monopoly. Should Anyone Be Worried?
Okay, so another day, another corporation gobbling up smaller businesses. This time it's Groupe Holged, scooping up École La Prairie in Casablanca. [https://example.com/holged-acquires-ecole] I mean, seriously, how many schools does one group need?
A Growing Empire of Education
They already snagged Al Massalik back in June 2023 and KENZI in May 2024. [https://example.com/holged-previous-acquisitions] It's like watching a slow-motion Pac-Man game, except instead of dots, it's kids' futures. And who's advising them? Asafo & Co, apparently their go-to guys for all things acquisition-related. Good for them, I guess. More billable hours. But what about the actual education? Does anyone care if these schools become cookie-cutter versions of each other?
It's always the same story, isn't it? "Expanding our footprint," they say. "Strategic growth," they claim. But let's be real, it's about profits. Standardized testing, streamlined curriculum, and a whole lot of kids who all think the same way. Is that what we want? A generation of corporate-approved automatons? I mean, it's probably too late anyway, but still...
The Illusion of Choice
And what about the parents? They think they're making a choice by sending their kids to a "private" school, but if all the private schools are owned by the same company, is it really a choice at all? It's like picking between Coke and Pepsi – same sugar, different label.
Speaking of labels, Casablanca is also opening up shop in Los Angeles. [https://example.com/casablanca-la-store] A luxury brand setting up on Rodeo Drive? Shocker. Apparently, the founder, Charaf Tajer, is obsessed with LA's "gritty and glamorous paradoxes." Give me a break. It's called marketing, dude. According to Casablanca opens its first store in the United States, in Los Angeles, this is their first US store.
They've got a giant sculpted foot in the middle of the store. A giant foot! I guess that's supposed to be edgy or something. Honestly, it just sounds pretentious. But hey, who am I to judge? Maybe people will flock to buy overpriced clothes in a store that looks like a Greek temple threw up.
Tangent time: my landlord just raised my rent again. Said it's "market value." Market value for what? A leaky faucet and a cockroach infestation? Seriously, where's the "gritty and glamorous paradox" in that?
Is Anyone Actually Paying Attention?
Back to Holged... the Casablanca Stock Exchange is down, by the way. [https://example.com/casablanca-stock-decline] MASI slipped 0.71%. Not sure if that's related to Holged's school-buying spree, but it feels like everything's connected these days. One big, messed-up web of corporate greed and economic instability.
The article mentions "solid fundamentals and steady investor confidence." Yeah, right. Tell that to the guy who just lost his retirement savings.
So, should we be worried about Holged building an education monopoly in Casablanca? Offcourse we should be. But will anyone do anything about it? Probably not. We're too busy arguing about politics and obsessing over celebrity gossip to notice that our kids' futures are being bought and sold like commodities.
Then again, maybe I'm just being cynical. Maybe Holged is a benevolent corporation that genuinely cares about education. Maybe the giant foot in the Casablanca store is a symbol of hope. Maybe my landlord will suddenly develop a conscience and lower my rent. Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly.