Amin Magrabi, CEO Magrabi
The word “culture” is perhaps the most important one in the vocabulary of Amin Magrabi, the CEO of one of the world’s leading premium eyewear retailers, which has a multi-million-dollar turnover from 144 stores across five countries in the Middle East.
ulture is a topic dear to my heart,” Amin smiles across the table, as he sets out his vision for the company.
What he means is that as well as being a successful business, Magrabi is a pioneering social advocate, with the Magrabi Foundation providing eyecare to millions of underprivileged people in the Middle East and Africa, and most and foremost with impressive targets on gender equality throughout the company.
Today, Magrabi is facing a big strategic moment, a time not just of great business expansion, with 57 new store openings in 2022 (and a total investment of Dh84m), exclusive collaborations with top brands, but also ambitious cultural development of the company, which was founded by Amin’s grandfather 95 years ago.
Amin explains: “From Day One, we were there to help people see better. We were serving the communities we worked in. So, we were born as a social organisation. We had this policy that we would not turn away a patient who was in need.
“These phrases like CSR and ESG are not buzz words for us; this is where we came from.”
What he refers to is that Magrabi has succeeded in positioning itself as a thought leader and social advocate for change – not just in Saudi, but across the whole Middle East region.
In effect, the company was never afraid to
BY Glen Newtontake risks for what it believes in. In 2018, for example, it launched the “Empower Your Vision” campaign, a 60-second film that was released on the first day Saudi Arabia made driving allowed to women. It totted up millions of views on YouTube and this sororal call to arms sparked thousands of online discussions and, on rare occasions, a backlash from traditionalists.
“It is not secret that the Middle East is changing, and the role of women is changing too – and needs to change – for all the right reasons,” says Amin. “And we would like to be leaders in breaking this status-quo.”
“We have made some very tough commitments at Magrabi. For example, the pledge that by 2025, we will have a gender balance. And we’re ahead of schedule, with already 32% of female ratio within the company, versus 25% in December 2021. And when I say gender balance I mean right across the company – from the Board, senior leadership team, to all management levels.”
It is clear that the CEO has given much thought to these policies, not just simple maths such as equal numbers of women in the workplace and comparability of salary, but also the environment and conditions within the company.
“At Magrabi we are against all forms of discrimination, but we felt this was a topic we could make a real dent in,” Amin says.
“We have even shared it with our customers. We had a women’s empowerment campaign. We thought it was great, but at the time not everyone did. We broke some boundaries there and made some people feel uncomfortable. But that’s alright. This is a great cause, and we are happy to be among many fighting it.”
“We’d like to be a role model for other organisations – in this region and beyond. Because the target of gender equality by 2025 across all levels of the company is an ambitious one, even in many Western countries.”
But Magrabi is going further, with policies to protect maternity rights in the workplace.
“We believe women should have the right to have children as well as to work, to be mothers as well as executives,” Amin says. “We create policies and an environment that allows for this. It’s really not that difficult if you have this core belief. It starts with a belief. If you believe that both genders are equal in the rights they have, in the opportunities they have, and how we should pay them, yet have certain differences, that is ok. This is what makes us stronger. And I believe that any organisation that does not believe this, will not be standing as a leading organisation in the future.”
On that front, the company undertook a first earlier this year, opening Saudi Arabia’s first female-only staffed store. "Less than five years ago, women were not even allowed to work in our stores in Saudi Arabia,” he explains. “So, for us today to have launched
a female-only store with a female leader was an important message to send to our staff, to our customers and to the society we live in. It was a way of saying this is a new era, an era of equal opportunity.”
This isn’t just for show. And Amin explains for that matter that the company has many other policies which promote gender equality, including an accelerated store leadership development programme for women and recruitment policies which support women’s rights.
“We hire women who are sometimes eight or nine months pregnant, and they join us and literally go straight away on their maternity leave. We’ve also increased our maternity leave – the paid and nonpaid segment. They can be gone for over a year, but we keep their place and they come back. We believe that is a special time and both parents should have the right to spend it with their new-borns.”
“We have equal pay, it is written, it is clear. But also, we have created networks for women inside the organisation, development tracks, a bi-annual survey so we can listen to them, where we are falling short and where we can change. We listen closely and keep an open mind and try to react as quickly as we can.”
The CEO says that the company is also proud to have a diversity of nationalities and faiths around the world too. “We are a very nurturing and inclusive culture, but a performance culture as well. We like to win, but to win you need to fail and when someone fails you need to listen to them and support them. People perform their best when they feel secure.”
That word ‘culture’ again, which is very close to Amin’s heart.
Now nearly 20 years in the role, Magrabi Retail is the biggest eyewear retailer in the middleeast region, with 144 stores, an estimated market share of 40% in premium and luxury, 1350 employees and a revenue of $220m a year
for the retail arm, aiming to double by 2025.
The company’s brand are household names in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf. Indeed, Magrabi has a clear business strategy, an engaging message as a social advocate and a legacy of 95 years of providing quality eyecare. “We were born to care for people’s eyes,” says Amin. “That has always been our mantra.” Since its early days, the company’s founding stone has always been to “never turn away a patient” as per Dr Akef ElMaghraby’s words, and since 1992 Magrabi has had a charitable foundation offering equitable eyecare.
This impressive legacy starts with Amin’s grandfather who was a Saudi-Egyptian ophthalmologist, studying in Edinburgh and eventually moving to Saudi to become a private consultant to the King. Amin’s father, Dr Akef El-Maghraby took up the baton, holding a residency at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London before returning home to open the first chain of shops.
It is Amin who has used his background in investment banking and high finance to really take Magrabi to the next level. He has a very clear vision and a strong business strategy to consolidate Magrabi’s position in the region before eventually taking it global and turning it into a publicly-listed company.
“I think international expansion is something we are thinking about,” Amin explains. “Possibly beyond five years, but in this current period we are building the platforms, the talent, the technology to enable us to take that next step.”
He is right to be cautiously optimistic. According to PWC, while online and mobile shopping are on the rise in the middle east, with 47% frequently using their smartphones for purchases, the in-store mall experience is still very important to them, with 56% of Middle Eastern consumers prefer visiting physical stores.
This kind of knowledge is built into Magrabi’s strategy. “We are primed for an omnichannel experience: you need the bricks-and-
mortar, and you need to online – at least in the premium segment,” says Amin. “In the mainstream maybe, you can have online only but if you want to really give the ultimate experience - you want to get premium measurements, you want bespoke – with people who care about that kind of service I think it is difficult to do it purely online.”
But Magrabi’s business strategy now accounts for both premium and mainstream markets. When he took on the challenge of his father, who had already started Magrabi across Saudi, Amin was given just two stores in Egypt to manage and going forwards had first to decide where to position the Magrabi brand in the eyewear market.
That meant having to close some stores and open new ones specifically designed to capture the top tier market, which accounts for around 25% of the sector. Once that was achieved, the company could then focus on creating a separate brand to cover off the mainstream. “Where we now choose to open is very data driven. We take tens and tens of data points – whether
demographic, social, infrastructure,” he continues. “We use AI models which look at current revenue of the stores, where they are and then highlight other catchment areas that fit those. They highlight where we should and shouldn’t be. It is for us now extremely data driven.”
This detailed assessment also led to the creation of a new lifestyle chain in the mainstream segment, Doctor M, serving wider customer segments and hence widening the reach of the group.
This formula has led to clear results. After implementing a repositioning strategy, the company now has a portfolio of 144 stores, boosted by the opening or reopening of another 57 stores this year – 16 of them Doctor M – the biggest expansion since Amin first took over the business in 2004.
In January 2022, Magrabi unveiled its pioneering Lens Innovation Centre (LIC). Located in Dubai, it is one of the world’s most advanced facilities and the region’s biggest and most efficient manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses, capable of producing two million lenses a year.
Serving the group’s premium luxury brand as well as the company’s lifestyle mainstream chain of stores, Doctor M, the LIC consolidates Magrabi’s position as the leading eyecare and eyewear luxury retail in the Middle East and will create a total of 90 jobs by 2025.
“We want Magrabi to dominate the entire vertical chain in the region to ensure we are ready to disrupt the global optical market and we continue to invest significantly
to meet this ambition,” says Amin Magrabi, CEO of Magrabi group.
With its state-of-the-art technology, the LIC is the most advanced lab in the Middle East, partnering with Schneider Optical, a leading manufacturer of the state-of-the-art ophthalmic lens machinery and equipment.
It is the only lens facility in the region that utilises Schneider’s Modulo Line technology, enabling it to run at maximum efficiency levels not seen in the region before. The facility has a current capacity of one million lenses per year, operating 24/7; and is anticipated to double to two million lenses per year by 2025.
The LIC, which will require a total investment of Dh54 million by 2025, is a significant step in this journey as the company progresses to controlling the entire optical value chain, an important milestone to exploring other markets.
“In the premium segment, as we stand today, we are probably the largest in the world,” Amin says. “But there are a lot of opportunities in the next 4-5 years in the region, not just in terms of footprint and expansion but our strategic initiative in terms of vertical integration.”
“It is critical to own that entire value chain to be able to bring your best products to your customer – this will give us tremendous flexibility and independence as the world is consolidating very fast on the supply side,” he adds.
With that in mind, Magrabi has set up a worldleading Lens Innovation Centre in Dubai, with plans to double the current production of two million per year by 2025. The company has also started producing its own brands to be sold alongside the designer labels it has become known for.
Another shrewd move has been to capitalise on the large market for coloured contact lenses account for around 50% of sales in the middle east, as opposed to Europe. Light colours, such as grey and hazel, are particularly popular and just last month the company championed Arabian female beauty and legends in its Leïla & Leïla range, celebrating the most inspiring women in the ancient tales of One Thousand And One Nights.
This brings the conversation to another key plank of the Magrabi message: gender equality and social reform in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.
With a Saudi father and Lebanese mother, and his wide international education experiences, Amin considers himself as “culturally enriched”, in tune with the several cultures of the Middle East region, which gives him a broader understanding of the different markets. This probably explains his clear intentions when it comes to making sure Magrabi is a thought leader and social advocate on gender “differentiation” in the region.
“Systemic change can only be achieved and sustained by challenging perceptions, particularly when it comes to preconceived notions about Middle Eastern women. We believe in the sheer potential that women bring to o organizations, with global studies showing that companies with women in leadership positions, and particularly on boards, outperform those without women. The diversity of skillsets, perspectives and knowledge are integral for being equally represented at MAGRABi.”
“Women are an engine for economic growth greatly needed in the region, yet this can only happen if companies rethink their culture and employment strategy. Gender balance will make us a more versatile, complementary and inclusive workspace redesigning an archaic structure. We will be a better company allowing for improved customer engagement in our stores and creating within MAGRABi an unique and more productive culture”
“I personally feel empowered and respected. Leading the People and Culture team in MAGRABi and being a female at the same time, gives me a great motto to support the gender equality strategy and mission as part of my personal career mission and journey to help female talents succeed in their careers and enjoy their lives.”
“Magrabi catalyzes the strategic direction and commitment to achieve not only gender balance but equality and inclusivity … The company has a long legacy of supporting women, and the target of gender balance is evident through the hiring process. It is a world-class organization that nurtures equal opportunity and gender balance in the workplace. The culture of flexibility, well-being and work-life balance is an essential competitive advantage and a pillar in attracting and retaining female talents.”
“Our history has been dominated by severe discrimination against women… Today time has come for our communities to realize there’s no chance to grow except by inclusion and equality. We strive to cascade the lesson to all social classes to make sure women everywhere get their rightful presence in every field, get equal chances to grow, prosper and evolve for what they deserve and what they have long dreamt of.”
“Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decisionmaking processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.”
“The link between a country's development and the participation of its women is a fact. Women's incomes feed the country's children. Women's success become good examples for the country's children. As the old African saying goes, "Educate a man and you educate a man. Educate a woman and you educate a nation."
“As a working woman and mother, the gender equality means a lot to me, it gives me the confidence and the passion to keep working hard, overcome the obstacles and the everyday challenges to achieve my goals. Magrabi was always very keen on making the best for the employees. I feel very proud to be part of such an “up-to-date” community, and so grateful to have such leaders with such mission.”
“As a woman who has been working in Magrabi for 15 years, I believe in equality between men and women in all fields, and this is why I feel proud to be a part of this organization that gives a first priority to women.”
Cherine Magrabi – VP Marketing
Souha Hasan – VP Mainstream
Dr Kayra Kim S. Hernandez, O.D.
Sabine Volcic: VP - Buying & Merchandising
Mahitab Hafez - Egypt VP
Khouloud Ayar –Field Coach Trainer
Therese Magdy –People and Culture Director
Donia Hamed – Senior Category Manager
Dr Sanaa ElhaliDoctor of Optometry
In this line of thought, he stresses that the success of the company is down not to a single individual but is supported by a team of experts he relies on. “That’s why we have a department called ‘People and Culture’.” Amin insists that although it leans on its family legacy of 125 years, the company operates “very much like a start-up”
So, with all these positives and regional achievements, why not simply take Magrabi to the rest of the world as soon as possible?
“We are building our own brands, exclusive brands and alliances to allow us as we enter those markets to have a really differentiated proposition,” he says. “Globally, you won’t see many multi-brand retailers expanding into international markets. One of the few is Sephora. They’ve done a wonderful job and that is one we learn from, the benchmark, to see how they’ve done it.”
He continues: “We want to make sure our platforms are in place, we have a fully differentiated product range, and customer experience. When you step into a Magrabi store you know you’ve stepped into a unique place.”
Clearly, Amin’s international experience has stood him in great stead with the business. In his early teens he then went to an English public school where he demonstrated his talent and early leadership potential on the playing fields of Rugby School in Warwickshire. “I captained the athletics team; I loved cross country running and became deputy head boy at the school. I loved all that, I got immersed in that life and got involved in a lot of sports there. UK champion U16 800 metres. Around the age of 16 I fell in love with rugby and enjoyed the camaraderie of the sport.”
Following that, he was formed at Brown University in the US and Richmond University back in London. He went into investment
banking, spent some time in Egypt fascinated by talk at the time of the “Tiger on the Nile” economy, before heading back to the States to JP Morgan.
But 20 years ago, he decided to return to the Middle East to help run the family business with his father. Since then, his achievements have been great: turning the retail brand into a household name in the region. He has achieved this by thinking big, setting out a clear business strategy and choosing the correct partnerships.
Big names, exclusivity and premium branding remain at the front of the mind for Amin. “We need to curate a unique experience to our customers. It’s been in the making since 1927. Our customers are looking for exclusives or unique models, so we work with these brands, like the work we did with Valentino exclusive Magrabi model.”
“These types of collaborations are very exciting because you produce limited editions that our consumers are looking for. We are always looking for brands that have a unique positioning.”
So how would Amin like to see the company as the focus turns towards the region? “We are a company in the optical industry that people maybe haven’t heard about, but it would be great if we were seen as doing a lot of innovation and leading change,” he says. “I hope we will be seen as reinventing the category and industry – and that this activity is coming out of an industry you least expect.”
With this unique focus on ambitious strategy and a healthy company culture which has innovation, fairness and equality of opportunity at its heart, it is hard to see how this vision can do anything but continue to succeed and reach new heights in the future.
www.magrabi.com
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