Page 4 - RLI July / August 2019

who’s who in retail

MEETS

Amin

Magrabi

CEO OF magrabi rETaIL

Q. What are your key objectives over the next 12 months? and enforces a fresh culture, improved systems, and an empowered human capital
A. as always, we’ll continue on developing and securing our brand positioning as - all of which that combine to grow the business and take it to a sustainable level.
leaders in both eye care and fashion eyewear. There are many strands to our focus. For this transformation to be anchored and become the new DNa of the business,
Key amongst these will be an accelerated roll-out of our rebranded stores across the it requires an authentic leader who stays true to his or her values, who genuinely
region. Since 2016, we have executed a fully-fledged rebranding strategy of our stores cares, and makes responsible decisions while remaining aware of the organisation’s
and launched 62 newly rebranded sites in less than three years. In doing so, we’ve strengths and limitations. my father, Dr. akef magrabi, has provided me with a constant
created a world-class, highly unique, and fashionable customer experience. In support source of inspiration in life and business. I consider him a truly transformational and
of this, we will continue to reinforce our technology capabilities and become a more authentic leader. as well as founding eye care hospitals in Jeddah and being a pioneer
data-driven and digitally enabled organisation. additionally, for our more than 1,000 of eye surgery in the Kingdom of Saudi arabia, he also founded the magrabi retail
employees - given the immense value that we’ve always placed on our human element arm to ensure high-quality service, as well as the ‘magrabi Foundation’ and ‘africa Eye
- we will continue investing in our people through the customer-centric retail training Foundation’ – both established to help prevent curable blindness.
academy that we launched in 2018. Furthermore, we will bring to life a reinforced
CSr strategy while nurturing our involvement in our host communities. The latest Q. What do you make of social media and its prominent rise in
activity we launched - alongside our arabian Eye campaign revealed in may - is Vision importance over the last few years?
For all, an initiative that aims to donate 10,000 pairs of optical frames to children and A. It has proved to be a game changer for the dynamics of modern society. The
elderly in need - matching one for every pair of sunglasses or eyeglasses that were impact it has had on the way a business should conduct itself can’t be overstated.
sold during the last ten days of ramadan across all magrabi stores. We’ve fully embraced social media, and today we communicate and engage with our
customers through a variety of social media channels. It is also a fascinating listening
Q. Have the economic struggles across the market in recent years had tool – one that enables us to learn many insights about our clients through their
any impact on the business? behaviour on social media. Using this information, we’re able to adapt and serve
A. Undoubtedly, and in common with every regional retailer in this industry, we them better. This is particularly applicable to gen Z – a demographic who continues
felt the impact of the drop in oil prices during 2016. However, by remaining agile to be a highly prospective and interesting segment that we specifically target.
and reactive to the changes in consumer behaviour and discretionary spend,
we’ve succeeded in mitigating its effects. Q. What would you consider to be best decision in your life and your
biggest successes?
Q. What three key leadership skills do you feel are the most important A. That’s an easy one - proposing to my wife. my biggest successes are my three
in the current retail climate? beautiful children.
A. agility: Today’s retail market is increasingly volatile, uncertain, and complex.
Now, more than ever, it is essential for a leader to quickly anticipate, identify, and Q. How are you feeling about the 12 months ahead?
respond to market changes with actions that are focused, fast, and flexible. A. Highly motivated! There are lots of transformational projects that we are
Curiosity: Without doubt, a mind that remains receptive to people’s views - and currently working on, such as our omnichannel strategy, together with many
that remains on a quest to learn about ideas that come from across different great operational activities that will focus on our customer experience and the
fields - is a mind that is well-placed to discover smarter business solutions. magrabi brand. I’m also excited about the colleagues that have recently joined
authenticity: In my opinion, probably the most valuable trait of a successful our organisation, and looking forward to seeing this new talent lead us to more
leader. During these times, it is crucial to stand true to core values and to never significant positive results and an even more empowering culture.
compromise on those. a continuation of this leads to building a genuine bond and
strong relationship with customers. Q. Do you have words of warning for the industry?
A. I would advise everybody of the need to be client-centric, to build their data
Q. As a leader, when making key strategic decisions, what proportion of capability, and to be a cross-generational organisation that always embraces inclusivity.
the decision do you feel is fact-based and what proportion is instinctual?
A. While instinct remains a key attribute of every successful business leader, Q. Any final thoughts or anything else you would like to add?
because of the many qualitative and intangible elements that come into play in A. The last three to four years have been extremely challenging for the retail
the retail industry today, our decisions are based mainly on facts and data analysis. industry. This presented everyone with a choice: either to feel overwhelmed by
the economic situation or to consider it an opportunity from the reinvention and
Q. Can a leader be transformational and authentic, and who is your transformation of their business or organisation. We opted for the second approach.
favourite example of such a leader? Teaming up with our employees, partners, and vendors; we succeeded in revisiting
A. Of course, and, more than this, I feel it is fundamental that a transformational leader our business model to become recognised as a leading global eyecare brand. We
must be authentic. a transformational leader is the one who strategises and then elected to makes ourselves bigger, faster, and stronger. I’m also very proud of our
ensures the execution and implementation of this strategy, and continuously builds talents who are making our dreams and projects come true day after day.

04 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL JULY / AUGUST 2019