RAGHIB FAMILY

The Raghib’s (known as Ramsorwala) come from a family of entrepreneurs and simple livelihood.  They live in the state of Rajasthan where their ancestors ran their agriculture/ grain business. The family is also well known in the Bohra community as one of the most leading and dedicated members in Kuwait; and among the worldwide Bohra community. They strongly follow their holy spiritual leader, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb (TUS).  They have faced hardships and challenges to succeed in life.

The family comprises of seven brothers; Mr. Ali Hussain Ramsorwala (Secretary of Bohra Community in Kuwait), Mr. Akbar Ali (partner of the company), Mr. Qutbuddin (CEO of the company), Mr. Saifuddin and Mr. Khozema (Production Manager). Mr. Shoyeb handles the hardware business in Mumbai and; Mr. Burhanuddin deals in computers. They are into the market of Kuwait for past 35 years.

The journey began in 1965 when Mr. Ali Hussain had travelled to Kuwait by ship and worked in a company as a photographer. In 1970, Mr. Akbar Ali came and worked in a German Automobile Company, Opel as a salesperson in spare-parts department. In 1975, Mr. Qutbuddin worked in the Canon Company managing the showroom.

In the year 1977, the two brothers decided to start a part time business by selling readymade garments. As their part time business yielded good results, they planned to open up a garment shop on a wholesale basis in 1978. To earn a better experience, merchandise was locally purchased and sold in order to get accustomed with customer requirements.

Their target customers were mainly locals, Saudis and Iraqis. After thorough market study and customer needs and wants, the need arise to flatten the feathers by importing from abroad. This led the need to visit Far East countries in 1983 and buy exclusive ready-made garments to fulfill customer demand. However, in 1990 they dealt with a huge loss due to the Gulf war. So, they established new business in Dubai, which lasted for two years. Thereafter, they shifted their business to Kuwait in the year 1993.The shifting from Dubai to Kuwait led them to start with the wholesale business which runs under the brand name ‘TAHERABAD”.

The year of 2000 millenium brought revolution in the market. It was changing from sellers market to buyers market. That enforced them to expand from wholesale to retail chain. In April 2001, they inaugurated their first retail store in the name of “ V.i.P Centre located in the heart of the city known as Mubarakiya near Kuwait Stock Market.

The invasion on Iraq in 2003 opened new face of business through American camps situated across Iraq. This encouraged them to diversify and start up a new jewellery business under the head of  “V.i.P Jewellery”. Murtaza s/o Mr. Ali Husain under the supervision of
Mr. Qutubuddin manages this segment of business. Ammar s/o Mr. Akbarali also works along with them. They do trading in both wholesale and retail gold. In addition, they also design customized jewellery as per customer wants.

 In 2006, the second branch of V.i.P Centre was opened in Farwaniya. Yousuf
s/o Mr. Qutbuddin under supervision of Mr. Saifuddin and Mr. Khozema take care of the retail sector. Then in 2011, the third branch of V.i.P Centre was initiated in Hawally area, which is taken care by Salman s/o Mr. Ali Husain besides Mr.Yousuf.  They run several department stores, comprising of brands such as Flash, D-Denim, Adventure, Jeanius, Marine Club and Rock Express in their clothing line.

In the same year they expanded their jewellery business by opening the Bullion trading business of buying and selling of pure gold bars. Mr. Akbar Ali’s youngest son, Mr. Hussain Ramsorwala deals with it. Besides that, Abdul Qader s/o Mr. Saifuddin after completion of his studies from India joined the wholesale business working under supervision of
Mr. Akbar Ali.

The five brothers in the business are like five pillars of their business that have maintained the rapport and kept their business abreast with the fashion. Their bonding and trust in each other is the key to their success. Nevertheless, they have nurtured their children in the same manner and seen that they follow their footstep by supervising them while in business.