Ravi Kohli
“Nothing is Impossible..!”
- by NCM & SURYA
Life is not a bed of roses and when those daunting challenges come knocking at our door we may never know. But the man who has the will power and the courage to rise despite his fall, the man who dares all challenges with the resolve of his character and the man who never calls it quits in the testing waters of life is the real man. Such a man is Ravi Kohli who believes in the statement – success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.
Ravi Kohli was born and brought up in Kuwait. He, after his schooling in Kuwait obtained his BBA in 1978 from Prince Georges Community College in Maryland, USA.
His grandfather the Late Mr. U.C. Kohli had his hotel business in Pakistan. Then he came to India and started spare parts business in New Delhi. Then stepped up to Iran, Iraq and in the year 1936, came to Kuwait on a short visit to survey the market prospects in the country. The Senior Kohli subsequently in 1948 started his spare parts business in the country.
Ravi Kohli’s father, Mr.Staya Paul Kohli worked alongside his father and they became the largest dealer in spare parts in Kuwait.
Ravi Kohli’s grandfather along with 9 other prominent Indians started the first Indian school in Kuwait which also incidentally was first in the GCC and also in the Middle East. In fact Ravi did his schooling in this same school.
It was in the year 1978, after his BBA when Ravi Kohli started his career with the Korean Airlines in Kuwait as a Reservation Clerk and was promoted to Station Manager. He quit the airlines job after putting in 8 years of service. Later, he formed, Al Sabah & Kohli General Trading & Contracting Co. WLL (ASK) in 1985, which till date continues to do a roaring business in this part of the world.
In the year 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait took place. Like many other businessmen Ravi Kohli also had to leave his established business and go back to India. He was reduced to nothing in his professional life. He had to begin re start again everything from the scratch.
“It was a quite shocking time for me and my family” in his own words. “I sheer pain of this memory” he always says that this kind of incidents never should happen again. Though it was a big calamity he never did allow it once to be a roadblock in realizing his dream which was to set up an empire in Kuwait.
He came back to Kuwait after the Iraqis left Kuwait shores in April 1991. He began constructing the empire of his dreams from ground zero. The clientele was lost as very few corporations started their operations. He had literally to create a market for Corporate Gifts & Premiums. But he did not lose hope and he was sure he will reach his destination. He had the ability and the courage.
He had the support of his family and especially his wife whom he derives his biggest personal inspiration. He believed in his products and in his marketing strategy and above all he had unshakeable faith in himself. Very soon he was on the road to progress. He regained his business and his power to be one of the top ten businessmen in Kuwait.
Initially he struggled a lot and took a lot of pains in developing his business. Then his business slowly grew to strength of 350 employees who all work as one family. No one leaves this family.
So, was Kohli’s immaculate business sense genetically transmitted to him or was it gifted? “My business sense was a bit gifted but it was more of my optimistic approach which I followed religiously,” answers Kohli in a rather candid tone. Kohli has virtually single handedly created his massive business empire, and he claims that choosing corporate gifts as his business actually did for him in the business career.
“That time it was not a well-established business and I knew, if I market it well then there will be no stopping me” he explains, suggesting how Corporate Gifts & Premiums were actually a big risk taken, though a well calculated one indeed, today the name ‘corporate gifts’ is synonymous with ‘ASK’, anywhere in Kuwait!
What about his flourishing restaurant business?
In 1992 he started Dawat Restaurant which rises to 4 branches today , and TAAL restaurant for Indian Cuisine.
Was that too a risk taken at the most opportune moment? Dwelling on the past, Kohli offers an interesting explanation here, says he personally believe that the gifts business is attached with a lot of human feelings and emotions. The same thought made me erect the restaurant or hospitality sector and I have always looked at the smiles on my Customer’s faces,” admits Kohli, with the unmistakable sense of joy. His restaurant chains today specialized in both luxury and hospitality.
And what exactly has prompted him to experiment into diverse fields? “Post 2003,” he reveals, “it seemed that the opportunities in household, hardware and cosmetic sectors would be on a rise and were strong appealing the Iraqi consumers.
Surveying the same, I planned to enter these streams as well.” One wonders, how easy it would be to manage so many different types of business initiatives and how an entrepreneur would manage to get adequate time and attention to all?
Well, a smart businessman plays it smartly and Kohli explains how! “I have appointed managers for all respective fields, we conduct meetings based on the evaluation of our products, market growth, consumer demands and product enrichment, identifying new opportunities and planning to execute them etc.” “I set goals for them,” he continues, “and they plan their strategies and tactics to achieve those goals. Each goal was measurable and that is how we evaluate our proceedings.”
Ask Kohli today, if he thinks that had this troublesome phase not come, could he have perhaps been much more successful? “I would not say that, as no one can predict life,” answers the self-assured businessman.
What makes Kohli a greater hero is the fact that he has no regrets in his life. He says, “I thank God for whatever I have achieved so far. I have no regrets in my life.” Humble enough to attribute the secret of his success to the love and support of his family and employees, Ravi Kohli isn’t the kinds craving for any modulation.
He knows that there are and would be, many young Indians wanting to take him as their role model.
He knows that each, would be keen to emulate his successful ways but for Kohli, this is not the way it should be. He doesn’t allow himself to acknowledge the role model businessman in him. The reason he cites is simply expressive and on surprised and charmed by the simplicity and gravity of his thoughts.
Says he, “Most of the people have a problem, that they are not honest to themselves. You may think you are better skilled than the other person. This is exactly what the other person thinks as well. You have to make yourself stand out, which can be done by using your strengths and making people aware of those strengths.”
So What about Kuwait?
“The outlook for Kuwait remains bright, with high oil prices, strong growth prospects. The economy is still too dependent on oil which helps in retaining its very strong ratings.” “While Kuwait’s ample liquidity and wealthy consumer market will remain attractive,” he avers, “there is a lack of market orientation, which makes the investors nervous,” concludes Kohli.
Ravi Kohli is a great admirer of the late Dhirubhai Ambani, and his business role model / inspiration has always been his grandfather. Says Kohli, “Indian Business has been handled by the most aggressive people.
Competition has always been at its peak but the admiration and support for each other has also been appreciable.” Kohli though cannot help but admit to the fact that this competition is something that stokes the fire of performance within him and makes him aspire for greater achievements in his business life. “Yes,” he emphasizes, “achievement is a never ending policy for me. I have to constantly put in my efforts toan>
Kohli’s definition of success is ambition, commitment and hard work. He feels, Nothing is Impossible in the world if keep one’s steps are planned.
He wishes to be remembered as a humble business man in a foreign soil and to be remembered as a True Indian. His ambition is to go back to India and establish his business there, someday, Inshallah!
Ravi Kohli is married to Neelam Kohli. She holds a very important position in his life and she is his real motivator. Whenever he is stressed, she supports him and encourages him by pointing out to his talents which encourage him to go ahead.
They are blessed with three beautiful daughters, Richa who graduated from Switzerland in Events Management, Nikita also graduated from Switzerland in Hospitality and Marketing Management, and today is taking care of the restaurant business, the youngest, Anjalika, just graduated from school in Kuwait and is going to join Psychology study in the US.
