Palmon Group

About the founder

Manohar Lahori was born in 1954.^[10] His first business venture was a garment factory, launched in Mumbai, India, in 1974. Established under the name Palmon Exports,^[11] it was equipped with approximately ten garment-making machines.^[12]

Founding story

In 1984, during a business trip to London, Manohar Lahori stopped off in Dubai to visit Jebel Ali, where the UAE’s first free trade zone was in the process of being established.^[13] During his visit, he met Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, who was charged by the late Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum,^[14] then ruler of Dubai,^[15] with establishing companies around the Jebel Ali harbor area to support the Emirati economy.^[16] Convinced of the potential of the new trade zone, Lahori officially moved his business operations to Dubai in 1985,^[17] and set up one of the first shops in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).^[18] As Lahori predicted, the relocation of the business to burgeoning Dubai, proved a great success.^[19] Within a year, the garment manufacturing operation was inaugurated in Jafza by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.^[20] In 1987, the business expanded into the new Fujairah Free Zone.^[21]

GROWTH PHASE

In 1991, the Palmon Group established its first sales office in the United States. Its turnover reached USD 150 million, with 4,000 employees across 19 factories.^[22] In 1995, the Dubai Ports Authority celebrated the group’s new showroom and manufacturing facility on its tenth anniversary in the country.^[23] In the late 1990s, Palmon Group, like many UAE-based firms, suffered setbacks when Chinese manufacturers began to flood the market with cheaper products,^[24] leading the group to diversify its activities and branch into other sectors, such as logistics and investment.^[25]

In 2002, Kunal Lahori, the founder’s son,^[26] joined the family business as a managing partner, a position in which he serves to this day.^[27] With the involvement of the second generation, the Palmon Group was able to grow further and branch into more sectors. In 2006, the group opened a new showroom to promote the group’s Palmonade luxury kitchens division.^{[28] [29]} In 2013, Kunal established the group’s first restaurant, ^[30] El Sur, a contemporary Spanish fine dining destination.^[31] Meher Mirchandani, the founder’s daughter, joined the family business a year later.^[32] The Palmon Group is currently the exclusive UAE dealer for Ernestomeda, a major Italian kitchen manufacturing brand.^[33] In 2018, the group launched a private real estate investment trust, Manrre.^{[34] [35]}

TODAY

From its Dubai headquarters, the Palmon Group, now one of the longest-standing UAE-based family businesses, today operates13 subsidiaries spanning eight industrial sub-sectors under manufacturing, retail, and logistics.^[36] Founder Manohar Lahori serves as the group’s chairman, and his wife, Reshma Lahori, is the managing director of Desert Blues,^[37] the firm’s garment-trading business.^[38] In addition to his role as a managing partner, Kunal runs the group’s food and beverage business division with his wife,^[39] Rania Lahori.^[40] Meher serves as group director.^[41] Chirag Lahori, the founder’s nephew, runs multiple divisions of the family business as a director of operations and business development. The Palmon Group and its leaders have received numerous awards and other accolades for their contributions to the growth of the manufacturing industry in the United Arab Emirates,^[42] including CEO of the Year, Forbes’ Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World, Arabian Business Top Leaders, Indian Power List, and Top Indian Businessmen in the GCC.^[43]