He is young, talented, dynamic with a vision to steer an extremely large family business from its pinnacle of success to even greater heights. Meet Mr Abdulaziz Alujan, Managing Director of the esteemed and well-known company, Latif Shoe.
Tell us briefly about yourself: Where you were born and raised, any special childhood memories?
My name is Abdulaziz Alujan. I was born and raised in Bahrain, and I come from a very close-knit family. I went abroad to the United States where I took a few courses and really experienced the college life. Afterwards, I moved back to Bahrain where I graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in international business with a minor in marketing. Although I had originally imagined my place to be in insurance, I eventually found my calling as the Managing Director at Latif Shoe.
Tell us about your enterprise, Latif Shoe.
Latif Shoe was established in 1972. It was my father’s first business. The concept was the same, a multi-brand gentleman’s store that served shoes as well as leather goods. The first store still exists today and is located in Manama’s Bab Al Bahrain. As a matter of fact, we have since expanded the single store by growing into the three neighboring stores around it. Upon joining Latif Shoe, I have been working tirelessly to continue to grow and expand the brand. Today, we have 10 stores in Bahrain with another 2 in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Hopefully, we are planning to open another 2 stores in Eastern Province Saudi Arabia by the end of this year. We are also looking to expand in other countries around the GCC including Qatar, Oman and Kuwait as well as more provinces in Saudi Arabia.
What international brands are part of Latif Shoe?
We began the brand with numerous international brand including Ecco, K shoes, Clarks, Joseph Sable, Piccadilly, Latino, Sledgers from France, etc. There are also the Select brands, which are the jewels of the crown, the crème du le crème of the brand. They are the most exclusive and most expensive brands available. They are the shoes with all the history. They include Barker, Crockett and Jones, Caretti, Edward Green and many more. We are talking about a big mix of brands. Additionally, we are working with 4 out of 7 brands of factories that produce handmade shoes in North Hampton. North Hampton was once the capital of fine shoemaking. However, with the increase of prices in labor costs and raw materials, factories have since dispersed into other regions. Only 7 brands remain, and Latif Shoe Select is proud to house 4 out of those 7. Hopefully, the 5th brand is coming in late July, early August. We are thrilled to have these brands, especially in such a small country like Bahrain.
Latif Shoe Select is branded as a high-end boutique. We are very careful when we choose our brands so that the distinctive brands, styles, colors, materials and textures complement each other and never compete.
Nonetheless, customer satisfaction has always been our highest priority. So the increase in variety and options has worked to the customers’ interests. We are proud to have been serving our customers for the past 44 years, and hope to continue for another 44 years and more.
Do you offer products other than footwear to the consumers?
We offer handbags, belts, walking canes, hats, cuff links, bowties, socks, bracelets, and more. We are always experimenting with new products. Since Select is more of a boutique, we have to constantly bring something new to the table.
What have been the initial challenges when you took over the organization?
The initial challenge was making an idea come to life. However, Latif Shoe Select was once a dream and today we are celebrating the one-year anniversary along with Barker’s 135th collection and the launch of the summer ’16 collection.
What have been the most popular line of shoes of your company so far? What do you think is the reason for that?
Our success is driven by our brands, but more so because of the brand itself, Latif Shoe. There is no competition between the brands. Each and every brand is used to strengthen the name of Latif Shoe Select. So our strength is our name. Today we are serving the 4th generation of customers. And I truly believe that they are not here because they are loyal to a certain brand that we offer, they are here because they are loyal to Latif Shoe.
Is there any memorable experience as an entrepreneur that you would like to share with us?
The idea of Select was a challenge for me to convince these high-end brands that Bahrain is on the map. Bahrain is different than every other GCC country. I convinced them that people in Bahrain wear shoes, not only sandals. It was difficult at first to convince them that people would see the value in these shoes. It took a year of negotiations and communications between these brands to convince them. Each and every pair of shoes in Select has been handpicked by me from trips around the world.
What according to you are the essential qualities of a successful entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur, you need to have a dream and a passion. But most of all, you need to have patience. There will be sleepless nights and worries. Eventually, your time investment will pay off, but you need to have patience in the process.
What is the most rewarding aspect of being an entrepreneur?
The most rewarding aspect is that you’re working for yourself and growing slowly and steadily. Believe me, it’s not as glamorous as you would think. It’s not about the irregular hours or unlimited leave. It’s not about that at all. Working for a family business is actually a job with a high amount of responsibility and risk. There is quite a bit of time investment as well as attention to detail. As such, you are essentially investing your family money and so you have to be wise in order to help the legacy go on. Since our grandparents worked for our benefit, it is now our job to work for our grandkids.