Business Leaders of the UAE: Al Adil - "Recognise opportunity when you see it"

Please share a brief overview of your brand and why you decided to set up base in the UAE?

Al Adil is our Business brand and we have another product brand titled Peacock. The words Al Adil in Arabic mean a good soul or a person who always thinks of the well-being of others. The story behind selecting these words as the title of the business is also interesting to note.

My father, the late Mahadevrao Datar, who was working in Dubai, pioneered this corporate brand in 1984. He always wished himself to be an amiable person and a philanthropist. While working in Dubai he saw the opportunity in serving various communities that migrated to the UAE for jobs by supplying them with pure, clean and authentic food products. That was the reason he started a small business called Al Adil Trading in Dubai. Initially it was just a tiny grocery shop established in a rented space. Eventually the number of shops as well as the volume of business increased and the brand was transformed into a company and today it is a multinational group comprising a chain of 50 super stores across the GCC, two state-of-the-art spice factories, 2 modern flour mills and an import-export company.

Please share a special message to the Nation as it celebrates the 50th year of its founding during the National Day celebrations this December 2nd.

I have been witnessing the progress of the UAE for the last 36 years. When I first landed in this great nation in 1984, it was in a developing stage, but I saw visionary infrastructural development everywhere. It has since prospered tremendously and is proudly recognised as one of the world’s important business hubs. Recently, the inauguration of our 50th store took place in the Golden Jubilee Year of UAE. This year has been declared as the ‘Year of the Fiftieth.’ So this is a pleasant coincidence for us. I have always loved and respected this country and its visionary rulers, who encouraged us and created myriad opportunities of development for many small entrepreneurs like me to grow globally. I wish and pray that this great nation take even bigger leaps forward and become the most sought after destination for the global business ecosystem.

In your capacity as CMD, how has Al Adil contributed towards the sector, and the growth of UAE?

Al Adil Trading group has performed a key role in bringing more than 9,000 Indian products to the UAE. The group also produces more than 700 products within categories like ready-made flours, spices, pickles, jams, namkeen and instants, under its own brand, Peacock. Al Adil Group is in active expansion mode and increasing its outlets in other Gulf countries. It has established special trade routes in the US, Canada, Kenya, Switzerland, Italy, Eretria, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We have a chain of 50 super stores, of which more than 40 are in the UAE. Millions of customers in the Gulf share a strong bond of trust with this brand. I only hope we have contributed towards the nation’s economic growth in our small way.

How are events such as Expo 2020 helping your brand to make an impact on regional and global markets?

Events such as Expo 2020 are crucial for any business to explore global opportunities. Even my brand has been transformed by one such international exhibition. I remember, before the start of this millennium, we would run our business in traditional style. But I felt a need to supply my products in a more safe and hygienic way and saw the advanced packaging technology in one such global exhibition in Dubai. The automation process solved my problem and we adopted new technology. Exhibitions provide us with new opportunities for growth.

In keeping with its remarkable achievements over the last five decades, how do you visualise the progress of the UAE over the next 50 years?

What I like most about the UAE is that this great nation is really growth-oriented and business-friendly. The encouraging business policies and ever-supporting and visionary rulers have made this country a land of opportunities and prosperity. I think the next 50 years will see the UAE become the centre of global business, being the a gateway to prominent trade regions such as Asia, Europe, GCC and Africa. I appeal to the UAE entrepreneurial community to take advantage of the encouraging policies and infrastructure to grow further and contribute even more to the economic progress of this land.