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Al Yousuf is a glowing symbol of what can be achieved when the
private sector and national leadership share a single vision
in partnership to realize their joint aims. Led by its founder
and chairman, Yousuf Habib Al Yousuf, Al Yousuf has played
- and continues to play – a major role in the emergence
of the UAE, and Dubai in particular, as the economic model
for the region. But the success of this multi-faceted enterprise
could not have been achieved without successive generations
of the Dubai ruling family creating the environment and infrastructure
in which business could flourish.
Founded on the back of the sale of shipment of rice husks
from the Sub Continent, the company has grown into a multi-million
dirham conglomerate with operations ranging from motor vehicles,
auto rental and real estate development to home electrical
appliances, state-of-the-art electronics and computer operating
systems. Its manufacturing base includes the production of
wide range of fiberglass (FRP) boats as well as bitumen-based
membranes for use in construction.
From its new head office on Sheikh Zayed Road, along Dubai’s
rapidly expanding southern corridor, Yousuf Habib Al Yousuf
and his sons run a network of offices and showrooms that currently
stretches across the UAE, the Gulf and the region. Its markets,
however, reach far beyond the Middle East, into the Indian
Sub-Continent, Asia, Europe and the US.
Al Yousuf Motors’ portfolio, for example, includes
General Motors and Daihatsu vehicles; Daewoo buses; Yamaha
motorcycles, outboard and marine engines, water vehicles,
generators and boats; and Suzuki motorcycles and outboard
engines. The Information Technology division handles brands
such as Avaya, Western Digital, NEC and Epson. Al Yousuf Electronics
has the agency for LG Electronics.
The company has grown remarkably through
aggressive marketing and the continuous addition of new agencies
and businesses. Since 1986, turnover has grown 5-fold, a mark
of the confidence the financial community has in the future
of the Al Yousuf. It has a network of subsidiaries and associate
companies in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and its
staff today total more than 1,000.
Al Yousuf is constantly seeking new opportunities
to partner with regional and world brands that are themselves
looking to expand to new markets. Increasingly, these companies
are recognizing the advantages of partnering with Al Yousuf
– an organization that has strengthened immeasurably
over more than 50 years.
2003 marked the official 50th anniversary
of the company that has become one of the most significant
commercial groups in the Middle East.
It was in 1953 that Yousuf Habib Al Yousuf
registered his enterprise with the then fledgling Dubai Municipality.
But the roots of Al Yousuf LLC lay generations back when the
family began small-scale trading around the Gulf and the Arabian
Sea.
The first hints of Yousuf Habib Al Yousuf’s
entrepreneurial talents emerged when, at the age of 15, his
father sent him to the Indian subcontinent to buy rice to
sell in Sharjah, the commercial focal point of what was then
the Trucial State. No rice was available. Instead he bought
rice husks, for use as an agricultural fertilizer, and shipped
them to the emirate.
Following the successful sale of the husks,
the young man decided to stay in Sharjah and began trading
in foodstuffs,
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textiles and gold from India and
Pakistan and Gulf pearls. But with no banks inSharjah,
he had to take his receipts to a bank in Dubai, a
half-day trip on the back of a donkey along the beach
since no roads, existed at that time.
Gold trading now became Yousuf
Habib Al Yousuf’s most important activity. With
Dubai emerging as the local financial center and,
at the invitation of the ruler, Sheikh Rashid Bin
Saeed Al Maktoum, he moved his headquarters to the
fledgling city, counding one of Dubai’s first
bullion exchange houses.
The young Al Yousuf joined the
informal Majlis of key entrepreneurs hosted daily
by Sheikh Rashid who, upon recognizing the young man’s
entrepreneurial spark, helped him find direction for
his enterprises. Sheikh Rashid let Yousuf Habib Al
Yousuf and other in establishing Dubai Electricity
in the 1950s and encouraged him to become a founding
director of the National Bank of Dubai in 1961.
The enterprising young man was
also the prime mover in setting up Dubai’s telephone
service with Cable & Wireless, which initially
provided a total of 500 lines to the city.
Trading, however, remained the
core business – the company was Dubai’s
largest importer of sugar and rice. Its former logo
reflected these roots – a palm tree, as a symbol
of the region, together with a camel and sailing dhow,
signifying the two traditional prime means of transporting
goods.
In 1963, Al Yousuf began to take
the shape that it has today when Yousuf Habib Al Yousuf
secured the agency for Yamaha motorcycles, a franchise
the Company still represents. It was a leap of faith,
for Dubai still had no paved roads. Yamaha commercial
outboard engines, which followed, rapidly became –
and still remain – the first choice for the
Emirate’s fishing fleet.
The company moved into motor vehicles
in 1969 when, with the franchise of Daihatsu Motors,
Japan, the Automotive division was set up as an autonomous
business within the Group. The first showroom, covering
only 400 sq ft was situated in the downtown area of
Deira with just three staff. Other agencies followed,
most significantly Suzuki motorcycles and outboard
engines in 1976, General Motors Chevrolet vehicles
and Buick cars in 1977 and Daewoo Motors in 1985.
Today, Al Yousuf Motors operates from a 160,000 sq.
ft. state-of-the-art headquarters on Sheikh Zayed
road, has a branch network across the UAE and employs
well over 600 people.
In 1965, the company’s Electronics
arm was founded with several franchises from East
Asia. The agency for Gold Star air conditioners, refrigerators
and washing machines was secured in 1977. In 1998,
when the brand became LG, growth was explosive and
the range of products extended to projection TVs,
audio systems, microwave ovens and other electrical
appliances.
It was a natural expansion from
electronics into computer technology in 1983. Al Yousuf
IT, through its Distribution company partnering with
many of the top world class brands, is now one of
the leading suppliers of IT equipment and software
in the region with a healthy export market as well
as strong domestic customer list. Its Future Technology
division designed and implemented the systems that
have helped make the customer contact centers of Etisalat,
the UAE telephone company, and Q-Tel, the Qatar telephone
service, among the most efficient in the world.
By 1979, the company began importing
Yamaha boats for both pleasure craft and commercial
use. In 1993, the Al Yousuf Industrial division opened
a factory to manufacture boats under licence from
Yamaha. To date, more than 1700 boats have been produced
including many pleasure cruisers, a number to the
company’s own design.
The Real Estate operation has
thrived throughout the company’s history in
Dubai. Its development of Dubai’s first “smart
building” on the Dubai Creek sets a new standard
for high-end luxury living and technological connectivity
in the UAE. It has also been instrumental in providing
the Al Yousuf’s showrooms and industrial premises
and it was responsible for developing the group’s
landmark – the new headquarters on Sheikh Zayed
Road.
A far cry from the tiny rented
space where the young Yousuf Habib Al Yousuf founded
the multi-million dirham business that carries his
name.
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