A collaborative research project between New York University Abu Dhabi and Tharawat Family Business Forum

Spotlight

Uncle’s Shop

Information last updated on 06 June 2022

Snapshot

Founding

Family Name:

Bhatia

Founder’s Name:

Uttamchand Tulsidas Bhatia[1]

Earliest Documented Business Name:

Uncle’s Shop

Founding Year:

1926

Founding Location:

United Arab Emirates

Today

Current Operating Status:

Operating

Family Business Name:

Uncle’s Shop Building Material Trading Co

Headquarters Location:

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Key Industries:

Building and Construction materials

Number of Employees:

Unclear

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Uttamchand Tulsidas Bhatia was born in 1910 in Thatta, India (modern-day Pakistan). His mother died giving birth, and his father passed away when he was three years old.[2] In 1920, Uttamchand was brought to the shores of Dubai by one of his relatives, a textile merchant, as they fled an outbreak of the plague in their hometown.[3] Many traders from the Indian subcontinent sought to do business in the burgeoning Trucial States, and before the arrival of Uttamchand Bhatia’s family, there had been Thattai traders in the region since the early 1800s.[4]

 

Having been educated only through the fourth grade, Uttamchand was thrust into a childhood of tough labor in the foreign city of “Dabai,” as it was then known.[5] He was severely mistreated by his relative at whose textile shop he worked.[6] The maids of the royal household witnessed the abuse he suffered and eventually brought it to the attention of the ruling family. Sheikha Hessa bint Al Murr, wife of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, offered to support Uttamchand and teach him Arabic; she also introduced him to His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who was around the same age as Uttamchand.[7] The two would become close friends and confidants.

FOUNDING STORY

At the age of 13, Uttamchand Bhatia started trading in textiles.[8] In 1926, when he was 16 years old, he opened a textile store located in Bur Dubai’s bustling Souk Al Baniyaan (Traders’ Market) —now known as Souk Al Kabeer, or the Old Souk) His main trade was in textiles that he imported from Karachi and Bombay[9]  and sold to the local population, including the royal family.[10] He sold khadi, the fabric choice of the wealthy, as well as madhar paat to the less affluent.

GROWTH PHASE

In the early 1930s, Uttamchand saw an opportunity to diversify his business and ventured into the pearl trade — a mainstay of Dubai’s economy at the time. He rented boats and divers (nukhdas), whom he sent to the Basra Coast of Iraq to dive for pearls.[11] As his success in the business grew, he became known as Banyan Lulu (Pearl Merchant).[12] In 1934, he returned to his native Thatta to marry Savitri Devi, whom he took to Dubai. Savitri became just the third Indian woman to live in Dubai,[13] and together the couple had seven children.[14]

 

By the turn of the 1940s, the decline of the pearl trade left textiles as, once again, Uttamchand’s only commodity. At the same time, he had become a respected member of the local business community, and became friends with members of key business families in Dubai such as Al Ghurair, Al Owais, Rostamani, Al Mulla, and Al Gurg.[15] During World War II, German, Italian and Japanese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean hindered trade between India and the Gulf, affecting local merchants and causing shortages in staples such as rice, whose prices soared.[16] To help the community respond to this inflationary crisis, Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum encouraged Bhatia to trade in food grains.[17] He branched into the retail food business after the sheikh gave him special permission to open a store that sold items at regulated prices. Again, his goods came primarily from Karachi and Bombay.[18]

 

After the partition of India in 1947,[19] Uttamchand made multiple extended trips to the subcontinent in search of new business opportunities. These efforts proved unsuccessful and he returned to Dubai.[20] In the 1960s, his store was officially registered as Uncle’s Shop to honor Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, whom the Bhatia family looked on as an uncle.[21]

 

After his return to Dubai, Sheikh Rashid permitted Uttamchand to invest in property. He participated in the establishment of the emirates’ first Indian high school, near the Dubai Museum, and was also instrumental in acquiring land for the Krishna Temple in Bur Dubai.

 

Uttamchand Bhatia’s sons Vijay and Ashok Bhatia took the family business in radically new directions. Ashok became involved in retail petrol sales,[22] while Vijay set up the country’s first authorized film distribution firm in 1970; several years later, he moved into the field of construction supplies.[23] The business was renamed Uncle’s Shop Building Material Trading Co, and in the following decades, it secured major construction supply contracts for projects such as the Dubai Metro, Dubai Dolphinarium, Dubai Airport extension, and Dubai Parks and Resorts.[24] Founder Uttamchand Bhatia passed away back in India on May 16, 1986, from a heart attack. In 1990, Deepak Bhatia, from the family’s third generation, ventured into real estate while maintaining the core business line of building materials.[25]

TODAY

Today, Uncle’s Shop Building Material Trading Co is led by members of the family’s third and fourth generations and continues to diversify its operations. In 2021, Yash Bhatia, son of Deepak, joined the company after working in the banking and automobile sectors. He envisions the family business expanding into the hospitality industry, green energy, and sustainable products.[26]

Notes

Photo Credit: A photograph capturing the voyage from Karachi to Dubai by the Bhatia family. Image credit: Bhatia family. Source: Gulf News

[1] UAE: Meet the “wealthiest” Indian Expat in the Former Trucial States – News | Khaleej Times. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/spotlight/meet-the-wealthiest-indian-expat-in-the-early-days-of-uae. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[2] Watch: Indian Expat Family Bhatias Makes History, Completes 100 Years in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/watch-indian-expat-family-bhatias-makes-history-completes-100-years-in-dubai-1.78094085. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[3] An Indian Business Family’s 100-Year Journey in Dubai – GulfToday. https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2021/07/17/an-indian-business-family-s-100-year-journey-in-dubai. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[4] “Sindhi Entrepreneurs and Their Pearling Enterprise in the Persian Gulf.” Sahapedia, https://www.sahapedia.org/sindhi-entrepreneurs-and-their-pearling-enterprise-the-persian-gulf. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[5] Watch: Indian Expat Family Bhatias Makes History, Completes 100 Years in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/watch-indian-expat-family-bhatias-makes-history-completes-100-years-in-dubai-1.78094085. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[6] Watch: Indian Expat Family Bhatias Makes History, Completes 100 Years in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/watch-indian-expat-family-bhatias-makes-history-completes-100-years-in-dubai-1.78094085. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[7] Watch: Indian Expat Family Bhatias Makes History, Completes 100 Years in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/watch-indian-expat-family-bhatias-makes-history-completes-100-years-in-dubai-1.78094085. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[8] UAE: Meet the “wealthiest” Indian Expat in the Former Trucial States – News | Khaleej Times. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/spotlight/meet-the-wealthiest-indian-expat-in-the-early-days-of-uae. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[9] Bhatias: An Indian Orphan from Sindh Becomes Top Merchant in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/bhatias-an-indian-orphan-from-sindh-becomes-top-merchant-in-dubai-1.1618567543437. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[10] An Indian Business Family’s 100-Year Journey in Dubai – GulfToday. https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2021/07/17/an-indian-business-family-s-100-year-journey-in-dubai. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[11] Bhatias: An Indian Orphan from Sindh Becomes Top Merchant in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/bhatias-an-indian-orphan-from-sindh-becomes-top-merchant-in-dubai-1.1618567543437. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[12] UAE: Meet the “wealthiest” Indian Expat in the Former Trucial States – News | Khaleej Times. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/spotlight/meet-the-wealthiest-indian-expat-in-the-early-days-of-uae. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[13] Watch: Indian Expat Family Bhatias Makes History, Completes 100 Years in Dubai – Gulf Time News. https://gulftimenews.com/2021/04/28/watch-indian-expat-family-bhatias-makes-history-completes-100-years-in-dubai/. Accessed  06 June 2022.

[14] 3 children according to other sources

[15] UAE: Meet the “wealthiest” Indian Expat in the Former Trucial States – News | Khaleej Times. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/spotlight/meet-the-wealthiest-indian-expat-in-the-early-days-of-uae. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[16] Hellyer, Peter. “Decades on, We Are Still Uncovering the Tragic Stories of the Second World War.” The National, 2 May 2018, https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/decades-on-we-are-still-uncovering-the-tragic-stories-of-the-second-world-war-1.705900.

[17] UAE: Meet the “wealthiest” Indian Expat in the Former Trucial States – News | Khaleej Times. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/spotlight/meet-the-wealthiest-indian-expat-in-the-early-days-of-uae. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[18] Bhatias: An Indian Orphan from Sindh Becomes Top Merchant in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/bhatias-an-indian-orphan-from-sindh-becomes-top-merchant-in-dubai-1.1618567543437. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[19] Vaidyanathan, A. “The Indian Economy since Independence (1947–70).” The Cambridge Economic History of India, Cambridge University Press, Mar. 1983, pp. 945–94, https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521228022.021.

[20] Watch: Indian Expat Family Bhatias Makes History, Completes 100 Years in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/watch-indian-expat-family-bhatias-makes-history-completes-100-years-in-dubai-1.78094085. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[21] An Indian Business Family’s 100-Year Journey in Dubai – GulfToday. https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2021/07/17/an-indian-business-family-s-100-year-journey-in-dubai. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[22] Bhatias: An Indian Orphan from Sindh Becomes Top Merchant in Dubai – The Wealth Land. https://thewealthland.com/bhatias-an-indian-orphan-from-sindh-becomes-top-merchant-in-dubai/. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[23] An Indian Business Family’s 100-Year Journey in Dubai – GulfToday. https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2021/07/17/an-indian-business-family-s-100-year-journey-in-dubai. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[24] Bhatias: An Indian Orphan from Sindh Becomes Top Merchant in Dubai | Special-Reports – Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/special-reports/bhatias-an-indian-orphan-from-sindh-becomes-top-merchant-in-dubai-1.1618567543437. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[25] An Indian Business Family’s 100-Year Journey in Dubai – GulfToday. https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2021/07/17/an-indian-business-family-s-100-year-journey-in-dubai. Accessed 06 June 2022.

[26] Living in Dubai for 100 Years: Bhatia Family Gets Nostalgic | MENAFN.COM. https://menafn.com/1102093122/Living-in-Dubai-for-100-years-Bhatia-family-gets-nostalgic. Accessed 06 June 2022.

To cite this article please use:

“Uncle’s Shop” Family Business Histories Research Project, New York University Abu Dhabi and Tharawat Family Business Forum, 20 Mar. 2023, familybusinesshistories.org/spotlights/uncles-shop