M.A. Yousuffali, creator of hypermarkets in the Gulf

DURING my tenure at Malayalam News and Urdu News I got a call from one of the richest men in the world, the second richest Indian in the Gulf and certainly one of the best-known men of business in the region including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen.
Within half an hour M. A. Yousuffali was visiting us and talking to me and other staff members of Malayalam News who were his compatriots from Kerala, the southern state of India, which has sent millions of people to the region. They in turn are remitting hundreds of millions of dollars back home and thus helping in rebuilding the economy of the state and the country in general. Their contribution to the Indian economy via their families and through their bank remittances cannot be overestimated. They are one of the most hardworking and energetic communities in the Gulf and certainly the most active Indian community in terms of number and the amount of money they remit. Their number and remittances keep on increasing every year.
I can testify to that after several visits to Kerala and numerous interviews, including those with chief ministers, ministers and working journalists. The skyline has changed for the better while condition of roads and private hospitals are improving steadily. Of course with the money Keralites are pumping into the state and the national treasury they deserve to be living like some of the maharajas (kings) of the past. Surely some of them are wealthier and more prosperous than those who ruled the smaller states that existed under British rule in the past century.
Yousuffali was born on Nov. 15, 1955 in the district of Thrissur in Kerala just at the time Keralites were looking around for employment abroad. He completed his schooling from Nattika and then moved to Gujarat where he did his diploma in business management and administration. Then he made what turned out to be the best decision of his life by going to Abu Dhabi, which was just about opening up with the discovery of oil in increasingly higher quantities. He joined the business of his uncle, M. K. Abdulla, chairman and founder of EMKE group of companies. He was placed in the import and wholesale distribution in supermarket business before launching the staggering Lulu Hypermarket in the United Arab Emirates.
When I arrived in Dubai our office arranged a meeting for me with the rising and only star of hypermarkets in the region. He called me and said he would pass by my hotel in the morning. He did so in a brand new Mercedes, which was driven by an Indian who used to take Yousuffali to the “shop.”
The word shop is a misnomer for it was not just a shop but a huge conglomerate of shops under one roof where customers could get everything they wanted.
There was a small staircase near the entrance, which led us to a cafeteria where we sat for a chat. He was wearing a smart suit and ordered light snacks whereas I went for kunafa and baglawa having been used to them in Jeddah.
We overlooked a vast shopping mall that rivaled a football pitch. In fact some of his mega markets appeared beyond the visitors’ comprehension and coming from the vision of a young Indian, and that hailing from one of India’s smallest states, they are amazing.
After the first cup of tea he explained to me some of his plans, which aimed at serving his customers in every possible way, and expanding his hypermarkets in size and locations. That is why he now owns a hypermarket in Aden, the commercial hub of South Yemen, extreme south of the Arabian Peninsula, and one in Egypt.
Since that meeting he has been expanding — 104 now — not only his business but also influence. He employs more that 25,000 people mainly from Kerala and is a member of several Indian councils. For a while he was a member of the board of directors of Air India, the usually troubled government-owned airline although one of the big ones in the world. Air India has been one of my favorite airlines because I find it extremely comfortable especially in its first class which I always pay for in full. He said that since he could not do much for the Keralites traveling by Air India during his first two years and also because the Kerala government had decided to go ahead with its own airline, he felt that there would be a conflict of interest if he remained on the board of Air India.
The government of Kerala, as well as the people, have realized the benefit of a Keralite airline that would tap into the exceedingly profitable India-Gulf sector because of the presence of millions of Keralites in the region.
Since he is always traveling through his private jet, as often as twice a week it was not easy for me to get him on the phone but I talked to his manager of corporate communications V. Nandakumar who provided me with additional information after talking to Yousuffali.
Yousuffali has been consistently ranked as the most influential Indian by Arabian Business magazine and was ranked among the top 20 non-royal influential persons in the Wall Street Journal.
He was the first Gulf-based Indian to be given the highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri by the president of India.
Apart from his enormous business connections and legendary hypermarkets he is involved in charities and settlement of disputes and also acts as unofficial Indian ambassador to the Gulf. Yousuffali has been close to the royal families of the region enjoying a relationship of mutual respect.

— Farouk Luqman is an eminent journalist based in Jeddah.