Exploring the 100 Year Legacy of the Jashanmal Group

Our publications consist of a series of case studies which explore the historical evolution of selected leading family businesses in the MENASA region.

The historical narratives shed a light on the businesses’ multi-generational quest for longevity in spite of internal and contextual challenges.

In this webinar, we presented the first case study conducted with Jashanmal Group. Established in 1919 with its first store in Basra, Iraq, the Jashanmal Group is a retail and wholesale distribution business whose retail operations span over 150 stores in the Gulf region as of 2020.

With the Basra store’s success, Founder Rao Sahib Jashanmal was encouraged by British officials to expand to Kuwait in 1934. As the business grew rapidly, Rao Sahib’s sons —Naraindas, Atma, Hiro and later Mohan—took over and expanded into other parts of the Gulf region. In 2019, the family business–celebrating 100 years of operations– is overseen by the third and fourth generations of the Jashanmal family, while a professional management team runs day-to-day operations.