He staked his heart and sole in Dubai

Dubai: In order to raise money to get his sisters married off, Manu Jeswani left his home in India and tried his luck in the Gulf in 1978.

He found his first job at a retail store in Bahrain, where he earned Dh900 a month. Life was a little difficult then, but he somehow managed to make ends meet.

"I am the eldest in the family with three sisters and two brothers. I came to Bahrain to earn Rs50,000 (Dh3,961) so that I could get my sisters married off. It was my responsibility," Jeswani recalled.

Now, 32 years later, the Indian expatriate is the chief executive officer of a home-grown footwear brand in the UAE. Jeswani, 54, owns a huge stake in Shoe Mart, which is effectively his brainchild and whose success has been partly attributed to his hard work.

No doubt his life now is completely different.

"I had never imagined I would be in this position 20 years down the line. I attribute my success to Micky Jagtiani (Chairman of Landmark ) who had faith in me and helped me grow and reach where I am today," he said.

Landmark is a retail conglomerate which currently operates over 900 stores and has a turnover in excess of $3.2 billion (Dh11 billion).

Shoe Mart, one of the many retail brands under the umbrella of Landmark, has maintained a strong presence in the country since Jeswani founded it in March 1990.

The company, which recently celebrated its 20th year in the business, now operates 88 stores in the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman and Kuwait.

It offers an extensive range of footwear from in-house brands like Duchini, Paprika, Peppermint, Missy, Juniors, Barefeet, Little Missy to leading international brands like Bata, Barbie, Clarks, Ecco, Filanto, Imac, Lee Cooper, Puma, Reebok and Skechers.

It also sells accessories such as belts, jewellery, handbags, luggage, purses, school bags and a wide array of shoe care products, socks, suitcases and wallets.

Pressing circumstances

Prior to his stint in the Gulf, Jeswani tried various jobs since he was very young. He was 11 years old when he started working part-time at a textile shop in India.

"We had some pressing circumstances at home and being the eldest, I had to succumb to this."

In 1973 he worked in a wine shop and later as a plant operator at a chemical company. In 1978 a friend convinced him to move to the Gulf where he landed a sales assistant job at Babyshop, another Landmark brand, in Bahrain, where he met Jagtiani.

He quickly learned the tricks of the trade, from sourcing products to pricing, to handling customer service and merchandising. Not long after, in 1980, he was promoted to store manager.

Because of his honesty and hard work, Jeswani won the confidence of the big boss, who would later take him to business trips around the globe.

"I won Mr Micky's confidence through my honesty and hard work. He realised I was very genuine and true to my work. I was very honest about voicing my opinion and my work style," he said.

It was when Jeswani became the store manager that a gap in the market was noticed and a new business idea was hatched. "We often had customers asking for kids' footwear. That's when I realised there was a gap in the market, which was affordable footwear. We then thought of having a dedicated store that sells only shoes," Jeswani recalls.

In 1986, Landmark was keen on expanding its market reach, looking at the GCC countries. Jagtiani then entrusted Jeswani with the responsibility to test new waters.

"Mr. Micky was a complete visionary and a hard-core retailer. He found Dubai lucrative to open the footwear store. So in 1990 I moved to Dubai as the managing director to open the first Shoe Mart," Jeswani said.

The first store, which still operates, is located in the heart of Bur Dubai, beside Al Khaleej Centre.

"It had a very simple format. All the shoes were displayed in available sizes and customers would try out and pick their size. You can call it a shoe supermarket. It was a great success and was very well received in the local market. We decided to open the next one just three months after the commencement of the Bur Dubai store," he said.

When asked what other retailers can learn from their business model, Jeswani pointed to their ability to adapt change quickly.

"Change is inevitable and the sooner one accepts this fact the better it is to plan your growth. It's very important that you move along with the time and adapt to changes quickly because if you don't, your competitors will" he said.