Darwish Holding

ABOUT THE CO-FOUNDERS

Abdullah, Kassem, and Abdelrahman Darwish were born between 1905 and 1920 in Qatar.^[7] The three brothers were born into a family of Persian origin with a long history in trade^[8] and a shared ancestry with the Fakhroo merchant family of Bahrain.^[9] They were brought up close to the royal Al-Thani family, receiving Quranic education in the royal palace alongside their Al-Thani peers. When their father, a trader in foodstuffs, died in a house fire, the brothers, now young adults, decided to follow in his footsteps, taking over his business and slowly expanding it. ^[10]

FOUNDING STORY

Kassem branched into pearl trading, becoming one of the most prominent pearl traders in the region before the industry’s collapse in the 1930s.^[11] At this point, Qatar was under British control,^[12] which created multiple challenges for Qataris wishing to engage in trade and grow their businesses freely. Yet, the Darwish brothers pursued every business opportunity that came their way, regardless of scale. In 1932, brothers Kassem and Abdullah become the official distributors of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s kerosene in Qatar, making a small profit.^[13] Following the signing of the oil concession in 1935 and the beginning of oil drilling later in the decade,^[14] the brothers were granted small construction contracts by Petroleum Development Qatar.^[15] Around the same time, Abdullah Darwish was building a business relationship with Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, son of Qatar’s ruler. ^[16] Their relationship grew stronger over the years, and would eventually prove immensely profitable, despite being full of challenges.^[17]

Following the end of World War II, oil extraction picked up in Qatar,^[18] and it became clear that the national income would dramatically increase in the coming decades. The Darwishes by this point were prominent merchants. By virtue of this reputation, the royal family was interested in maintaining close ties with the Darwish, more than ever before.^[19]

GROWTH PHASE

In the late 1940s, Qatar Petroleum Company undertook the largest series of construction projects in the country’s history to establish Qatar’s first onshore oil field in Dukhan.^[20] Kassem & Abdullah Sons of Darwish Fakhroo landed its biggest business deal to date when QPC outsourced to them the recruitment, operations, and logistical management of all 1,500 laborers involved in the project. The company made over $1 million in profit from that deal alone. Through the 1950s and early 1960s, the Darwish family secured most of the contracts offered to Qataris by QPC.^[21] In addition to oil-related contracts, the Darwish family established Modern Home, a retail store on Doha’s Kahraba Street, Doha’s first road to be wired for electricity. The store would eventually introduce an array of leading global brands to the Qatari consumer market for the first time, including Rolex, Chanel, Bally of Switzerland, and Sony.^[22]

By the turn of the 1960s, the Darwishes were clearly the most successful merchant family in Qatar, which one commentator described as a “one-company-sized market filled very neatly by the Darwish.”^[23]  The three brothers formed a complementary team: Abdullah was known for taking quick, decisive action, Kassem handled more strategic and diplomatic relations, while youngest brother Abdelrahman gathered information from external sources and managed travel arrangements. ^[24]

In the second half of the 1960s, Qatar was in the midst of an exceptionally rapid development phase, which inevitably meant growing competition for the Darwish. In addition, Abdullah Darwish had moved to Dammam to run the family’s growing business in Saudi Arabia in parallel to the Qatari operations. ^[25]

In 1973, the company was split into four entities under the umbrella of Darwish Group. Three new business entities were established, each owned individually by one of the brothers. Kassem & Abdullah Sons of Darwish Fakhroo remained active, but with only a few subsidiaries: Oasis Hotel, Darwish Engineering, and Darwish Travel Bureau. The rest of the mother company’s assets and subsidiaries were divided among the three new entities. Within a few years, Abdullah retired due to health reasons.^[26]

Following Qatar’s full independence in 1971,^[27] the government diversified its development activities, and the Darwish Group diversified as well, as new opportunities opened up.^[28] In the automotive field, the Darwish brothers entered into partnerships with big names such as Fiat, Volkswagen, Audi, Pirelli, General Electric, and Dunlop. In engineering, they established partnerships with Ellis, Otis, Kingson International and P. Lynch. Heavy-duty trucks, furniture supplies, construction, and housing were among the new additions to their portfolio. In the 1970s, the second generation became involved, with Yusuf Kassem running his father’s company, Kassem & Abdullah Sons of Darwish Fakhroo. ^[29]  In the 1980s, Modern Home, now a large department store, expanded into other Gulf countries.^[30]

In 1997, the different companies operating under the Darwish banner were consolidated to establish Bader Abdullah Al-Darwish & Partners (BD&P).^[31] In 2005, the Technology Solutions Division of Darwish Holding was founded.^[32] Two years later, BD&P was rebranded as Darwish Holding,^[33] and Modern Home was soon rebranded as Fifty One East.^[34] In 2011, the company launched Lagoona Mall.^[35]

TODAY

Today, Darwish Holding remains one of Qatar’s largest family businesses. It has nine major divisions spanning industries such as consumer distribution, investment, retail, real estate, business services, and technology. The firm employees over 1,700 people, and it represents over 800 major international brands in Qatar and beyond.^[36]