Tony Jashanmal

The Jashanmal business association with the Middle East is over a century old. In 1919, Tony Jashanmal’s grandfather established a general store in Basra, Iraq, that sold items including stationery, newspapers, books and men’s clothing. International expansion began back in 1934 when his grandfather set up shop in Kuwait’s Safaat Square, and later on in Dubai’s Al Nasr Square in 1956. Three generations in, that expansion hasn’t stopped.

Jashanmal, who speaks seven languages and left a PhD mid-way to join the family business in 1971 after his father died, now serves as the current group director of an enormous retail and distribution empire. The group now has over 150 retails stores in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, and a distribution network of over 1,000 outlets.