My family is blessed to enjoy certain standards in life. Because of this we ensure that we give back. Within 30 days we raised over $300,000 for Dubai Cares, and we continue to back many other charities behind the scenes. This is important to us. What was your key role when you took over the business? I wanted to focus on strengthening the brand. Although this is a continuing project, as you have to continue to live your brand if you want this to remain strong, I believe that I have done this. It was a challenge to think outside of the box in terms of branding strategies. We had to let go of all that we knew previously and focus on high-end strategies. It is a culture that we have built up into our sales policy. None of my staff in Dhamani would ever even consider misguiding a customer into buying one of our products from other brands and stores, which, if you relate to wholesale business to business, proves to be a very effective tool.
Moving in this area however, brought about a whole new set of challenges… finding the correct facilities, a change in personnel focus to find the right staff suited for retail as opposed to office, all of this whilst focusing on the brand. It was a steep learning curve, that could have be seen as daunting, but if you think about it, if you have previously found the perfect office space for yourself then the retail space is just an extension of this. By working with the right people and outsourcing wherever possible/ necessary, you can navigate through unchartered territories with ease! Your market is full of stiff competition. How do you compete? When you think of jewelers you think of people that you can trust. The names people remember the most are the ones that they believe in. It is for this reason we decided to retain our family name. We are in essence a family business that runs on traditional principles, so keeping our family name we feel embodies exactly who we are, and what we stand for... that trust is two ways, just as vital to us as it is to our customers. So what do you stand for? We take a very strong ethical stance. We have always been big advocates of ensuring the authenticity of the gold and diamonds that we buy, and do not even consider aiding and abetting in the blood gold/diamond trade. Also, our staff and customers are vital to us. As a business you need the best of both if you are to perform well, but this can only be achieved if you treat everyone with respect. This is why I refused to allow my staff entry to our office whilst there was still a possibility of tremors (our interview was postponed by over an hour as we waited out the tremors having evacuated the office on the 58th floor of Almas Tower, JLT).
16
May 2013
Do you have any regrets? If I look at everything that I have achieved, I don’t feel as though I have done everything that I’ve wanted to do, but these aren’t regrets as such, they just spur me on to completing my next goal.
“My father taught us that whether you make money, or you lose it, the onus is on you”
Life is a journey, not a destination, and I want to enjoy each day of my life as it goes. To take advantage of each day, I set new targets and work towards completing them. If you could impart any advice on companies what would it be? If you only set aspirational targets you will not achieve the desired results. Your targets have to be set with strategic execution, periodic monitoring and correction.