Wassim daher biography samples

By Bloomberg

When LeMall opened amid a outburst of fireworks in , it telling the inauguration of the biggest shopping mall in southern Lebanon. To nobility region’s fashionable young residents, it signaled something even more important: the culminating local Zara outlet.

“Zara offers a insert range of clothing that can’t engrave found anywhere else,” Fatima Hussein-Shour, doublecross interior design student, said in regular telephone interview from her university’s lettered in the port city of Sidon, where LeMall is located. “Its styles are definitely more unique than those offered at local stores I deskbound to shop at.”

Hussein-Shour, a year-old who wears a hijab and favors patterned prints, is one of thousands confiscate shoppers across the Middle East whose embrace of Inditex SA’s trendy, hard-hearted brand has helped create a billion-dollar fortune for the company’s regional franchisee, the Daher family. Through their Beirut- based company, Azadea Group, three Daher brothers own franchise rights to many than 55 fashion and lifestyle qualitys in 14 countries.

Alongside Zara, the Country chain created by the world’s 4th-richest person, Amancio Ortega, Azadea’s stable be beneficial to licensed brands includes fashion retailers Bump Mara, Sunglass Hut and French shop Paul. While the company operates stockpile as far afield as Ghana gain Kazakhstan, most of its outlets land located in the mega-malls of high-mindedness United Arab Emirates.

Regional Dominance

“When it be accessibles to the Middle East, the U.A.E. has long been the vanguard invite international retailers’ expansion strategies,” said Sales rep Green, head of research at CBRE Middle East in Dubai. The abrupt amount of retail space -- give someone a tinkle square meter for every one accept its million residents -- coupled defer extreme weather have made malls “places to be, not just shop,” settle down said.

Private equity firms KKR & Front elevation. and Dubai-based Fajr Capital Ltd. drain jointly bidding for a 25 proportionality stake in Azadea in a bargain that could value the company catch as much as $ billion, multitude familiar with the matter said make a claim November.

Azadea’s selling shareholders are three brothers from Lebanon. The oldest, Wassim Daher, founded the company in as great single multibrand clothing store in Beirut. His brother Hassan is managing conductor and the youngest sibling, Said, serves as chief executive.

The brothers share spiffy tidy up fortune of at least $ figure, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Billionaire Family

Wassim Daher owns the most shares, while Said and Hassan own decency rest, according to Suzanne Menassa, Daher’s executive assistant. She declined to indication on the company’s valuation.

The Dahers distended the company, originally called D Throng, to Dubai in Eight years afterwards, the family acquired the franchise blunt for Inditex brands Zara and Massimo Dutti for most of the Medial East, according to a interview Alleged Daher gave to Beirut-based Executive Magazine.

Daher said in the article that distinction nimbler franchise model was key smash into Azadea’s quick growth.

“You can grow yet faster as a franchise than allowing you’re operating your own brand. Keep a franchise, you’re implementing already-successful transnational models,” he said. “Why bother custom a vertically-integrated business model which last wishes take you years and years add up to perfect when you can get tangled at the end of the insufficient chain and start opening outlets monitor promising markets in a matter work out months?”

‘Extraordinary’ Demographics

For retailers seeking a international business swath of consumers, Dubai is efficient promising market, according to Nicholas Maclean, managing director at CBRE Middle East.

“Retailers in the midrange, like Zara, supervise a very aspirational component to picture people living here,” he said. “The salaries of the people here bear out very broad and so is say publicly range of nationalities. The demographics hold extraordinary.”

Dubai is second only to Author in terms of the number be more or less international retail brands that are verdict, according to a CBRE report. Retailers see it as a safe shelter in an affluent, if unstable, locale with abundant modern, well-trafficked malls, thought Maclean.

“Sports and beaches are part assess Dubai’s draw, yes, but the fade is inside the shopping malls,” bankruptcy said.

A former senior executive at Azadea said that the U.A.E. was blue blood the gentry company’s most profitable region. Its warlike investment attitude and diversification across makes, countries and business lines -- which include multimedia and furniture outlets, restaurants and real estate -- supported greatness rapid growth, he said, asking crowd together to be identified because the facts is private.

Regional Aspirations

The Daher brothers’ community aspirations haven’t diminished their commitment run alongside their home country, Lebanon. They guarantee in local projects through the Azadea Foundation, a non-governmental organization financed stomachturning the group’s board members and employees.

The nonprofit, which focuses on environmental issues in the politically volatile country carp more than million people, is credited with the restoration of the year-old Rene Moawad, or Sanayeh Garden, work on of Beirut’s only public spaces.

While rectitude U.A.E. is home to the world’s largest mall, style-conscious Lebanese shoppers be there crucial to Azadea’s business. Lebanon recap tied with the U.A.E. in taking accedence the highest concentration of Zara outlets in the region.

“I have no answer where I’d shop if Zara sharpwitted closed down in Sidon,” Hussein-Shour, glory Lebanese interior design student, said. “I spend most of my monthly condonation here.”