He is simply global, with the footprint of his flagship brand LuLu Group International present cutting across continents, which also makes him the richest businessman from Kerala who found place in the Forbes World’s Billionaires List in 2021 as well. He is ranked at 589 globally, and 38 in India. But the globetrotting mogul is still the 18-year-old youth who landed in Abu Dhabi in 1973 to join his uncle’s business.

That is MA Yusuff Ali!

What makes him special is his humane vision that forms the foundation of his empire. Lulu is a globally renowned retail brand, and it has presence in strategic locations worldwide, active in different verticals, including shopping malls, food-processing units, hospitality properties, real estate development and wholesale distribution.

According to Forbes, his real-time net worth is $5.1billion. The revenue of LuLu Group International, with more than 220 LuLuStores and 23 shopping malls, is around $7.4 billion, and it is estimated that over 1,600,000 shoppers visit LuLu stores every day.

The journey begins…

Born at Nattika in Thrissur district of Kerala state in India on November 15, 1955, as the son of MK Abdul Khader Haji and Safiya, Yusuff Ali left for Abu Dhabi in 1973, after completing diploma in Business Management and Administration. There, his paternal uncle, MK Abdullah, who founded the LuLu Group of companies, was doing a smalltime business and Yusuff Ali assisted him. While working there, he helped the diversification of the business. In 1990, he started his independent business, with the first LuLu Hypermarket. Those were the days of the Gulf War and there was apprehension, but he was confident and had a clear-cut strategy, which popularised the brand very soon. Today, over 5,7000 employees work under him, and LuLu Group has emerged into a gigantic conglomerate with varied interests.

“Business is not just about money, products or services; it’s all about people,” according to the business tycoon who is the Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group International.

He keeps tab of every single employee working under him and ensures their welfare.

Sky’s the limit

LuLu Group has a strong footprint in food and consumer goods as well and it has two state-of-the-art food-processing facilities in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai in India. Further, it has a distribution network that covers almost all parts of the world.

However, what made news was his entry into the hospitality segment a few years back, with five-star luxury properties, big convention centres, flight kitchen and travel consulting companies. Some of the properties of the group include Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian, which is a historic Scottish hotel, and the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the former headquarters of the UK Metropolitan Police.

In Kerala, it has Grand Hyatt Hotel Kochi in Bolgatty and also the LuLu International Convention Centre at Thrissur, apart from LuLu Mall in Kochi and other properties in different parts of the state. He also has 10% stake in UK-based East India Company, and he is the director of Cochin International Airport and Kannur International Airport where he has stakes.

Philanthropic vision

A man of philanthropy, he is active in charitable initiatives. Apart from helping Indians during the amnesty era in the Gulf when hundreds of Indians lost their jobs, he also came to the support of the victims during the Kerala flood in 2018. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he extended support worth R50 crore, too.

Laurels aplenty

He has got innumerable awards, including Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2005) and Padma Shri (2008) from India (2008), Wessam Al Bahrain (2014), Queen’s Enterprise Award from the UK (2017) and most recently the Primaduta Award from Indonesia.

Yusuff Ali and wife Shabira Yusuff Ali live with their children in Abu Dhabi. His eldest daughter Sabeena is married to billionaire businessman Shamsheer Vayalil.  Second daughter Shafeena is married to Adeeb Ahamed, who is the CEO of Lulu International Exchange and Twenty14 Holdings, the group’s hospitality investments division. Youngest daughter Shifa is an entrepreneur active in the field of education.