Re: Our business Leaders..
Sir Anwer Pervaiz (Bestway group)
http://www.bestwaygroup.co.uk/page/Bestway-Corporate-Heritage.html
The Bestway story began in 1956 when Sir Anwar Pervez, OBE H Pk, arrived in UK to further his education and to seek pastures new. He made his abode in Bradford and tried his hand at various jobs. He worked very diligently in whatever assignments he had opted for. An ambitious spirit in search of perfection, he was conscious of his wide vision and fertile imagination that needed a larger canvas for his socio-economic endeavours. He could not do justice to his talents by working for others and was in constant pursuits of creating his own realm in the business world.
Devotion, long and tireless hours of work enabled him to accumulate enough initial capital to launch his own modest business. In 1963 he established his first convenience store “Kashmir” in London`s Earls Court. Among many of his firsts and in keeping with the demand of the Muslim community in particular, he pioneered the availability of halal meat and other halal food products. His visionary step brought instant recognition from a large number of Pakistani and other Muslim residents in and around West London.
Sir Anwar, however, was not the entrepreneur who would confine his ventures to a limited field. He was committed to fulfilling the requirements of all his customers regardless of their race, religion or economic background therefore he took the strategic decision to enter the mainstream retail market.
His enterprising approach in business management based on high-class service to consumers brought him rich dividends. Backed by a team of dedicated associates, his business prospered and expansion continued. By early seventies he had 10 well-stocked convenience stores in and around West London, popular among those consumers who sought hassle free service within the comfortable and manageable reach of their pockets.
Prosperity and profits were not his only priorities. A man of ideas that he is and disillusioned with the then prevailing system of trade, he opted to introduce an altogether novel concept in retail business to save it from the ever-increasing squeeze of the wholesalers who were charging a high margin of profit; of between 10% and 12%. He could visualise that the independent retailers had no chance of survival in the face of high margin policy of the wholesalers and the ever-growing network of big supermarket chains.
Sir Anwar and his team explored the possibility of entering the wholesale market themselves; in other words to take the bull by the horns. He initiated an innovative approach for challenging its hegemony over prices by introducing the concept of lower operating margin. It became evident that a 4% margin would still enable the business to operate profitably and at the same time, the independent retailers will be able to narrow the gap between the prices in the local community stores and the big supermarkets. His brave new strategy and unique trading style ultimately changed the face of the wholesale sector in the UK forever. This also helped in stemming the decline of local community stores in the 1970s and 1980s in the UK.
Non-availability of suitable sites and reluctance of the banks to fund his cash and carry venture posed as stumbling blocks. However, Sir Anwar and his founder directors were determined not to see their dream floundered due to non-availability of bank funding. They combined their individual resources to the extent of re-mortgaging their homes. While this satisfied the financial problem, they had to surmount the suppliers reluctance to offer usual credit terms. Their dauntless determination subsequently led to the growth of the business, which in turn led to the rise in credibility and reliability of the company. It opened closed doors to them and the usual standard trading terms were eventually offered. Ultimately the banks were also impressed with the companys financial performance and were comfortable in offering banking facilities. Sir Anwar`s perseverance had finally borne fruits.
Sir Anwer Pervaiz now owns a large cement business in Pakistan. In addition to cement business he bought UBL, one of the five leading Pakistani bank, when the bank was privatized in 2002 in partnership with Al Nahiyan of UAE. He bought Al Nahiyan shares when they decided to disinvest their shares in UBL.
Group Information:
Wholesale:
Bestway Cash & Carry Group
Batleys Limited
Best-One
Catering
Best Pets
Cement Manufacturing:
Bestway Cement Limited
Global Banking:
United Bank Limited
United Bank New York
United National Bank Limited
UBL Fund Managers Limited
UBL Insurers Limited
Ethnic Foods:
MAP Trading
Property:
Palmbest
http://newsweekpakistan.com/the-take/637
Sir Anwar Pervez
The 76-year-old founder and chairman of the Bestway Group, Sir Anwar started out in business with a small convenience store in the U.K. in 1963. By 1976, he had expanded his business, established a chain of stores, and entered the wholesale market. He made O.B.E. in 1992 and Queen Elizabeth knighted him seven years later. Sir Anwar was awarded the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 2000; and the Sitara-e-Eissar in 2006 for his efforts to help those affected by the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Newsweek’s Jahanzeb Aslam spoke with the businessman-philanthropist in Lahore recently. Excerpts:
You founded the nonprofit Bestway Foundation in 1987. Why?
I’ve always wanted to help people. Much of this came from my mother and some of this is just who I am. When we lived in Jhelum and people would come visit us from the village, I would give them my bed and sleep on the floor myself. After I moved to England in 1956 and after I had brought my family there, I helped move my friends to the U.K. And then I helped friends of friends. Finally I thought I’d helped enough individuals and decided instead to help groups of people through philanthropy.
This foundation runs 29 schools in Pakistan and several more in countries including India and Indonesia. Why the focus on education?
I used to walk eight miles from my home to primary school and back, every day. And to get high school education, I had to leave my home in Gujjar Khan and move to Jhelum. I’ve experienced the lack of facilities in education firsthand. We had great teachers, their standard was much better than that of the teachers we have nowadays, but the facilities were very poor. Once I became successful I felt the need to share my good fortune. I wanted Pakistan to be on par with foreign countries in educational facilities. And I’m glad we’re helping people.
Yours is the story of a small-town boy making it big in Britain. Would you agree that your success wouldn’t have been possible had you stayed back?
Yes, I would say 100 percent. British institutions are much more mature and ready to help you as long as you toe the line with them. I had a problem being a Pakistani because Pakistanis don’t have a good name wherever they are, sadly. Slowly and steadily I built relationships with my suppliers, with bankers, and with institutions, and they came to trust me. Over here, it is very difficult to build links with any institution because things keep changing and the majority of people are letting them down, and then it affects you as well: a lot of people expect you to let them down. I don’t think I would have been successful if [British] institutions hadn’t helped me.
Since the 1990s, your Bestway Group has been investing in Pakistan’s banking, cement and other sectors. How did you decide on these business forays?
There are two reasons for that. First, when I went to the U.K. I never intended on staying there permanently. I went seeking better opportunities and, in the back of my mind, always planned to come back after I had saved up enough. Luckily, when Nawaz Sharif came into power he opened the doors for foreign investment, brought in economic reforms, and made it much easier to bring your money back to Pakistan.
Do you remain upbeat about Pakistan and the business climate here?
I come to Pakistan every two months or so. Initially I used to be very happy coming back to my homeland. But I tell you, when I came in 2009, I felt very, very sad. People from Swat had left their homes [because of the military operation] and they came to Mardan, and they came further south—anywhere they could go. Some of my friends from Swat stayed with me at my house. I remember asking myself ‘what is going on?’ Here we are fighting within our own country, with our own people. We are all Muslims but we are fighting and killing each other. That was my first sad day back home, and things haven’t improved.
How have your businesses fared the recession and Euro crisis?
We’ve had no issues. Our business has continued to prosper. We had 10 to 12 percent growth this year alone. I know people are having problems but the British government is working hard and I’m sure that within a few years the problem will be over.
Do you support the Tories or Labour?
I believe in Conservatism. I honestly can’t even understand the Labour philosophy.