Ashraf Abu Issa and his colleagues with the award
DOHA: Ashraf Abu Issa, Chairman and CEO of Abu Issa Holding that oversees over 100 sister companies operating around the globe under the group umbrella, received the coveted Businessman of the Year award, at the annual Arabian Business Qatar Awards held recently.
“We are honoured to receive the Businessman of the year 2016 award. It is truly a prestigious award that validates our hard work and cements our progress in the retail market” Abu Issa said.
Thsi award gives us the responsibility to take on new challenges in the future and to continue marching towards the path of success, and to further our progress. he said he is dedicating the award to his team and staff .
“We could have not achieved the progress that we have, without the gargantuan effort that our team puts into our projects and operations daily. We are blessed to have the most competent team and staff that continues to objectively work on bringing our vision to life, and to always work towards our customers’ satisfaction.”
On the importance of business development and developing new business models, he said: “We at Abu Issa holding, always strive to further our business development and we aim to always keep up with the ever changing retail market, both locally and globally.
For example, we have been able to achieve a remarkable progress in the development of our e-commerce platforms abroad especially in the ever so demanding New-York market”
He adds, “We noticed a big demand from our customers in New York and this led us to focus on developing e-commerce strategies that aims to please our customers and to market our suppliers’ services as well.”
Although Abu Issa believes in the power of e-commerce, that does not mean the retail juggernaut has any plans to stop opening flagship-stores oversees. “We believe in the power of the store.
The store holds the essence of the brand, and can truly elevate the shopping experience for the consumer. Yes, we are keen on developing our e-commerce platforms, because the market demands it, however we will always collaborate with our suppliers to open flagship stores globally.” Elaborating on the need for the application of e-commerce platforms in Qatar, he said, “for the local market, we are working on developing e-commerce platforms and building up our e-marketing presence within the next 5 years through the provision of research and statistics to identify the needs of the community and to assess the market.”
Abu Issa Holding developed its own expansion strategy to comply with the ever-evolving market demands, however, he added, the idea is not to go for randomly. “We have been in the retail business for quite a while now, and we always care about obliging our customers and suppliers’ demands, and we always work on being present and accessible to them across the country. Having said that our expansion plans are well-planned out and we are in now way pressured to be present randomly in all shopping malls that open their doors every day in Qatar.”
