Nurturing a business empire rooted in humility

Housewarming ceremonies offer families memories to cherish for a lifetime. When Biju Kottarathil moved to his new home at Nileswar, the entire area had reasons to celebrate.

Biju, M A Yusuff Ali's secretary who has worked with the Lulu Group for 20 years, wanted his boss to be present for the ceremony. Little did he expect that the retail magnate would fly his business jet from Abu Dhabi to Kerala to be with him.

“I moved to my new house at Padannakkad on August 19, 2017. When I invited Yusuff Ali sir for the ceremony, he said that he would try to come. But he flew to Kerala only for that function, on his 12-seater Gulfstream G550.

Yusuff Ali landed at Kozhikode and hired a helicopter to go to Padannakkad to attend Biju's housewarming ceremony. He spent half an hour with the family before returning.

Yusuff Ali values sincerity and honesty in his staff. He wants his employees to be driven by something more than a paycheck. They should work with dedication and they should think of the company as their own.

Lulu Group employees are expected to come up with new ideas. Yusuff Ali often says that he had received ideas from his employees in store design, display and hygiene. “I want my employees to receive a decent pay. They should be paid on time. They are also assured of job security,” Yusuff Ali said.

Yusuff Ali cut his teeth in retailing in Ahmedabad, where he had gone to pursue his studies in 1970. He joined his uncle M K Abu's M K Brothers' Department Store. Three years later, he flew to Abu Dhabi, where another uncle M K Abdulla was running a store.

He started out as an employee of the store but soon set up his own business which later grew to employ about 50,000 people.

Yusuff Ali takes care of the people who stand by him. He used to recruit his staff himself. He gave preference to the family members of his employees while recruiting.

The business group does not demand potential staff to deposit money with it, a contrast in a job market contaminated by ruthless recruiters who fleece candidates of lakhs of rupees even without a proper job offer.

(Watch this space for more on Yusuff Ali)