Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

Naresh Kumar Bhawnani
Reigning Supreme
in Retail
Counted among the top business leaders in the Arab world, Naresh Kumar Bhawnani has catapulted UAEbased
West Zone Group from a single store into a fast-growing retail chain with over 100 retail outlets, by
virtue of his unwavering discipline, focused approach and strong work ethics
Business runs in the blood of
Bhawnani who belongs to a family
of entrepreneurs. His father ran
a retail business in the Indian state of
Madhya Pradesh (MP). A young Bhawnani
often helped his father and learnt the
tricks of the trade from him. Describing
his success saga, he reminisces, “Hailing
from a middle-class family in Mandsaur,
MP, I started my career at the age of 15
in India; the group was established on 2nd
December 2004 on U.A.E. National Day in
Mirdiff. Since then, West Zone has emerged
as a household name, and is best known
as one of the UAE’s renowned retail chain,
with more than 100 operational stores.”
He further adds, “In a span of 15 years, we
have successfully diversified and expanded
West Zone Group portfolio to include
Supermarkets, Hypermarkets, Logistic
Facility, Malls, Real-estate, Building
Material & Contracting, Technology,
Hospitality and F&B. All the stores are
inaugurated by my mother Mrs. Radha
Bhawnani, my mentor and real strength of
the group.”
Bhawnani is grateful to the dedicated
efforts of his 4,000+ employees who have
played a significant role in the group’s
success. He declares with pride, “Today,
thousands of consumers shop with us
every day and trust West Zone as their
first choice.”
Overcoming Every Challenge
like a Champion
It is a widely acknowledged fact that success
can be a long and winding road, filled with
many obstacles and challenges. Talented
leaders like Bhawnani know how to convert
challenges into opportunities. He forcefully
asserts, “A challenge / competition to me
is like oxygen – it drives me to do more. We
ensure that we provide maximum benefits
to our consumers, by buying directly from
the manufacturer to cut additional costs
and extend competitive pricing structures
to provide value for money.”
Bhawnani has successfully converted
every challenge that came his way to an
opportunity, and is reaping the sweet
fruits of success. Sharing his mantra for
success, he elaborates, “I truly believe
that West Zone stands out to be one of its
kind in retail by looking for all the possible
needs of consumers, suppliers and the real
assets of the company – our employees.
We work with suppliers and producers
all over the world to offer great quality,
healthy and sustainable products to our
customers at affordable prices.”
Propounding Reforms
Reforms are quite necessary to tackle
the obstacles to the fundamental drivers
of growth, and are designed to boost
an economy’s competitiveness, growth
potential and adjustment capacity. A strong
propounder of reforms in the retail sector,
Bhawnani asserts, “The Government in
the UAE has so far been very supporting.
Definitely, one would always want to groom
things a little bit. I would prefer to create
a pattern of Eco-Friendly & Bio-Diversity
“Today, thousands of consumers shop
with us every day and trust West Zone as
their FIrst choice”
Policy for all the Non-Food selling entities.
Selling items tagged with these important
symbols would make people understand
items before buying anything. This would
indicate the percentage or proportional
level affect sticker on all the products
before getting to the End Customer/
Consumers.”
He adds, “Buying patterns of the
consumers in the UAE has gone through
a drastic shift, where they are expecting
aggressive promotions; accordingly we
design our promotional calendars and
have been successful in offering great
quality, healthy and sustainable products
to our customers at affordable prices.”
Triumphs Galore
Bhawnani’s contribution to the retail
sector in the UAE has been recognized
at varied platforms. He proudly declares,
“Recognizing my contribution to the
advancement of the Arab region, Forbes
Middle East selected me as one of the top
Indian leaders of the Middle East. I have
been listed in Arabian Business Magazine
in their selected Power List, and have been
awarded by Dubai Police for Cooperation. I
have received a couple of other awards in
the Asian continent.”
Expressing gratitude on being felicitated
at multiple forums, Bhawnani says, “I
am grateful to be recognized in India
and beyond, for various achievements.
I do enjoy tremendous respect from all
sections of the society; I am being invited
by various associations and organizations.
I have been involved in a number of
massive humanitarian causes that have
played a pivotal role in the upliftment of
the economically weaker sections in India
and the UAE, which is a clear testimony of
Social Responsibilities carried out by the
West Zone Group.”
He can be best described as an epitome
of selflessness, when he declares, “The
triumphs wouldn’t have been possible to
me if I would not have dedicated my time
to indulge into the prayers and thanking
God at every step of my success.”
Working Hard to Make the World
a Better Place
A philanthropist to the core, Bhawnani is
actively involved in giving back to society
through the CSR arm of West Zone Group.
He elaborates, “We have established
our CSR initiatives as a reflection of our
mission and business core values. My
agenda of working is not merely getting
into business but also giving back to
society by creating various job platforms.
I ensure that everyone is being trained to
deliver proper customer service through
various mediums and channels in customer
service and after sale services. This leads
into customer happiness and satisfaction
in the end. With strong customer support,
we plan to nurture the relationship of
customer and counter staffs to levels
above and beyond today’s standards. Our
vision is to focus on daily consumer needs
at affordable prices without compromising
on quality. Here we are, serving the best
of today and making the tagline ‘Live
Better Today’.”
According to him, “Youth is the future.”
He believes that “they are those talented
mechanisms of society who are changing
the total ideology of working by working
in an innovative way that they can!” He
asserts, “For me the only message to the
youth is to keep the same enthusiasm
and spirit as this will lead to the making
of a strong, stable society. One advice is
preserving the Nature/Biosphere in every
possible way as this is what we inherited
and this is only what we will pass on!”
28 | india’s greatest leaders 2019-20 |