The pandemic's rare success story

A visionary trendsetter

Over the last four decades, Bin Shabib Group has become a leading name in the realty sector and for sales and distribution of food and non-food services in the GCC region and beyond. It has been an extremely exciting journey, which foregrounds UAE’s reputation as a hub of business and land of opportunities. Our growth in the FMCG sector over the last two years specifically is a testimony to our ability to undertake reasonable risks and adapt to the changing landscape of business, which has been proven over time.

Currently, my flagship venture AWS Distribution boasts of a robust capital of over Dh300 million, bolstered by our outstanding infrastructure of warehouses, cold storages, labour accommodation and committed talent.

One of the reasons of our success is our agility, which has seen the company expand its business monumentally, reaching Europe and Asia through digitisation. The future, I believe, is even brighter as we diversify our portfolio to add new revenue streams and business interests.

My business philosophy is to take calculated risks and thrive despite all odds as was evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, which had brought companies to a standstill. However, where others saw slowdown, I saw opportunities ­­— a trait I have imbibed from childhood.

The dream-maker

I was born practically in the heart of Deira business district of Dubai, and exposed to the business environment from childhood.

Back in the ’60s, I observed the lives of expats who came here with nothing but a dream and a will to succeed. I was greatly inspired by their indomitable spirit. If they could make it, so could I, with my family’s unconditional support and the opportunities this country afforded me.

I decided to turn entrepreneur, equip myself with skills needed to get more educated and informed, and got trained in the nitty-gritties of business through the few jobs that I held in my formative years — from working at the airport to doing a job in a bank and serving as a lecturer. Each of these experiences helped shape my perspective towards business.

The change agent

Even when I was in high school, I started a transportation business along with my studies. While running the business, I faced a host of real life issues, such as cash-flow constraints, scouting for spare parts, obtaining extended credit from suppliers, borrowing on promissory notes, looking for customers, leasing arrangements, arranging trucks when bulk orders are received, etc. It has literally broadened my business acumen. Later on, the customs assistant job in the airport and working on offloading specific cargo ship for 2-3 days occasionally with the leading shipping companies at that time sharpened the business skills and expanded the knowledge base. It exposed me to a wide variety of products, such as fresh foods, jewellery, costly watches, varieties of commodities, textiles, cartons of many sizes and colours for the first time in my life. The idea of becoming a businessman got imprinted in my brain and my destiny was defined then.

An incident related to a blank cheque opened my eyes to banking ­— another essential element for any businessman. I found a blank cheque in the office addressed to customs and signed by the officials of the company. I could not imagine the foolishness of somebody handing over a cheque without writing the amount in it. Later on, I learnt that the cheque could be collected only in the customs account and being a government entity, it would not claim wrong amounts.

I secured low marks in high school as I was running the transportation business and doing some part-time jobs along with the studies. However, I dedicated myself fully to my studies while being enrolled in the Overseas University and was a topper in the course in the University. The government scholarship and the generous allowance from my father prevented me from any misadventures. After the studies, since I had high marks, Al Ain University accepted me as a teaching assistant immediately, and gave me an opportunity to pursue research studies in an American University after teaching there for a semester. I pursued my studies in USA without any commitment to join them upon completion of studies. In the meanwhile, I worked in a bank and joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce as Deputy General Manager (DGM) and a candidate for General Manager (GM) in six months. I left them for good in three months.

I forayed into entrepreneurship in 1981, when I started a general trading business in machinery and electrical equipment with a Japanese company dealership. It took off to include a diverse spectrum of activities, including industrial automation (PLC), instrumentation and calibration equipment. As the business grew, it required more warehouses, showrooms, staff accommodations. This led me to real estate; initially for internal consumption and any surplus capacity would be let out to outsiders. It was a turning point for me as I realised that money is best invested in tangible assets — like real estate. Hence I bought properties with the money I had.

Then I bought another building and made more investments. This was my chance entry into real estate that paid off really well. Every six months, I would buy a building. As the margins grew, I reinvested the amounts in the PLC business, started an electrical gadgets manufacturing unit and real estate simultaneously. I could rope in big businesses, such as Airports and Oil Companies, to my fold. Banks too started financing me as they saw value in it. It was a huge gamble, but a risk worth taking. I kept my commitments to the banks always. I have never defaulted or restructured the bank borrowings even in Covid times.

Meanwhile, I started investing in people, too. Mine has not been a one-man show. I have built a wonderful multi-racial team that took each project to greater heights with their ideas and creativity. I learnt a life lesson from one of my Japanese clients about the need for soft words and politeness while dealing with the staff. Over the years, we grew into a multinational enterprise with a dynamic business portfolio ranging from real estate to engineering, catering services, restaurants, malls to healthcare, pharmacies among others.

The pandemic success story

In 2020, the world changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses were going down but we realised that even in the worst of times, there are opportunities to tap into. AWS Distribution was launched when the supply chain of many products was disrupted. Established names in the distribution landscape faltered and the principal companies started looking for newer and credible distribution companies, and that’s where we stepped in.

There was another reason for this diversification. From among my three shopping malls and other buildings, I noticed that a lot of them were nearly empty. No one was prepared to open any new supermarket branches or restaurants in the malls. I decided to venture into supermarkets and restaurants. With the help and ideas generated by one of my managers, we created a safe zone in our malls and other buildings for families to visit. Gradually, people started returning and staying in these buildings. This strategy paid off well as I opened the second mall in Al Barsha, it got filled-up quickly.

I decided to grow vertically instead of growing horizontally by turning our trading company into an FMCG group. Bin Shabib Mall had already left an imprint on people but we started manufacturing units and created our own brands, like India House, Levant Garden, Bambino, Juuicy, among others, to leverage the growth in the FMCG sector during the pandemic. This turned the tide in our favour, as our native brands became household names. European Bakery, for instance, further strengthened our F&B footprint while AFRA Electronics established itself as a leader in the electronic appliances segment during this time.

Throughout the pandemic and beyond, we continued to offer good products, created a strong and steady supply chain and went out of our way to satisfy customers. I never compromised on quality. I took notice of all competition and remain relevant. The results have paid off and how! Business grew, we added more products and brands to the portfolio. Currently, we have the Bin Shabib real estate portfolio, Rals Health Clinic and Rals Supermarket, Rals pharmacy, which are exceptionally strong. Additionally, investments made during the pandemic in FMCG, hypermarket, restaurants, clinics, pharmacies and manufacturing units have borne fruit and turned into highly successful business ventures.

Actively investing and diversifying during the pandemic, as well as taking calculated risks without fearing the future, was key to our growth story.

The astute strategist

In the past, trade was simple. You opened a shop and waited for the customer. Then businesses felt the need to go to the customer instead of waiting for him or her to come to them. Malls changed the entire landscape for small stores overnight but a bigger disruption happened with the Internet.

During such transformative times, what makes you succeed in retail is keeping tab on two things — what your competitors are doing and how to be one step ahead of them. I have a simple organisational structure and tailored it as per the practical requirements of the businesses always.

One thing I try to promote through my business is environmental friendliness. To that end, I have personally sent the GM of AWS Distribution to Europe in order to find out high-quality, eco-friendly water alternatives for the non-biodegradable plastic bottled water currently dominating the GCC market. I am proud to say that soon we will distribute pure European mountain water, where the bottle is made from natural materials and is, therefore, 100 per cent recyclable and biodegradable. We are also supporting ESG initiatives of the UAE Government in this regard.

However, strategically, we also plan to go public to give investors an opportunity to participate in our growth story and wealth creation at an appropriate time in the future.

At AWS, our aim is to reach Dh1 million a day in sales — not an impossible feat. When you have all the tools and intent, nothing can prevent you from reaching your target. We are a rich company — in terms of people, clarity of vision and quality of products offered. What we don’t compromise on is commitment and quality. Secondly, we have also paid attention to strategic associations, like the one we had with Gulfood. With our wholesale business growing, participating in Gulfood yielded rich results. As exhibitors, they offer a great platform for collaborations and growth.

The people’s leader

In my entire life, I have been naturally drawn to leadership. In the process of developing my talent as a leader, I have conducted a fair amount of research on the topic. This is when I came across ‘Situational Leadership’. It is a leadership theory, developed by American author Ken Blanchard that suggests a leader should not lead in a constant way.

However, the leader should lead dynamically, according to the situation that they are in. A leader should be directive, supportive, coaching or delegating according to the situation. As a directive leader, I must tell my team what to do and how to do it. As a ‘coaching’ leader, I must provide a great deal of direction and consider my team’s suggestions. As a supporting leader, I must actively listen to my team members and help solve problems. As a ‘delegating’ leader, I provide little direction and support to my team, as they already know what to do and how to do it. I am sure most leaders subconsciously apply this theory at some level. However, I believe it’s important for all leaders to consciously apply this theory to become more effective.

AWS's long-term strategy is centered on becoming a self-sustaining firm that not only distributes our private labels across the UAE and GCC, but also manufactures all our private label brands. To achieve this goal, AWS Distribution has recently acquired a 1 million square feet property which will be transformed into an industrial city called ‘Abdelwahed Bin Shabib Industrial City’. This new city will serve as the home of 30 production factories that will manufacture products not only in the F&B category, but also in non-F&B products.

In the coming years, AWS aims to become a major player in the FMCG industry by continuing to develop its own private label brands, expanding its distribution network, and investing in new production facilities. By pursuing this threefold strategy, AWS is well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of its customers, while also ensuring long-term success and growth for the company.

I have a piece of advice to new businessmen. Never attempt any trial and error. There is no time for it. You lose valuable time. Time is the essence of any business. Try to learn from others first and keep your eyes wide open. Please do enough homework prior to embarking on any venture. I suggest a lot of smart working; not hard working. You should be prepared to take reasonable risks. One day you would become successful.

When you do your part successfully, fate would play the other part and you would become successful eventually.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

• Lifestyle
• Dubai