I think businesses should take calculated risks and learn to be more aggressive,” says Rizwan Sajan, chairman of supply chain Danube.
Last year the company reported annual turnover of AED 1.25billion, with a growth rate of 25%; the target for the coming years is to achieve the same growth rate and revenues of US $1b by 2015 — at the latest.
“Thinking that there is currently a financial downturn and that opportunities are low will not help,” Sajan advises. 
“You should learn to be more aggressive and always be on the lookout for opportunities, regardless of being big or small,” he continues, while commenting that there is no time like the present to invest and expand, rather than save for a “sunny day” that may never come.
Sajan credits new markets and diversification strategies as Danube’s key growth drivers, identifying retail as a “potentially huge” market to expand into.
“When we were in the B2B segment, we were only catering to business buyers and export customers, but we saw the potential in the retail market and knew it was huge and untapped.
“The market always wanted a place where they could get the whole gamut of products for home interiors, home makeover and building materials at one place. So we created a new segment for that and I think that paid off.”
Today, Danube has retail facilities in malls across the GCC and India, in addition to a number of stand alone outlets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.
Expansion plans — which are expected to put Danube on track to reach its $1b revenue mark ahead of 2015 — include further plans for Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and new showrooms in Mushrif Mall, Abu Dhabi and Ahmadabad, India, specifically positioning the chain for major projects planned in each location.
Downturn/upturn
When the first store opened in Deira in 1993, the plan was simple; establish a strong business and use all available resources to help it grow.
With only limited means, Sajan relied on a network of contacts to provide the infrastructure necessary to take on the big contracts.
“During the first few months, we felt growth coming in at a slow pace,” Sajan recalls.
“The business strategy was to be very aggressive, proactive and to chase the opportunity, rather than just waiting for it to come.
“I used to attend back to back meetings and work long hours with the purpose of grabbing as much business as I could. As a result, we were able to tie up with the right brands and associate ourselves with the right banks to support Danube’s business objective,” he adds.
So when the down turn hit, it was these early principles that allowed the business to weather a financial storm.
“Clear focus, determination and hard work—these are the factors that have helped drive success for Danube. We know our goals and we are determined to achieve it. It’s a collective effort, we work as a team in trying to reach our goals,” asserts Sajan, attributing the brand’s continued success to the “unwavering focus” given to its objectives, in addition to strategic planning and the ability of Danube’s workforce to deliver results.
“Diversification in business has helped us to diversify our risks. Low volumes in some territories were compensated with the strong sales in others like Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman,” he adds.
Observing the impact of price fluctuations, Sajan says careful procurement strategies protected the business from the affects of the supply/ demand ratio, experienced when companies bought products in bulk at favourable prices, but were then unable to sell them on.
“It affected the bottom line of all business in the building materials industry.
“Companies were hugely compromising on profit margins to liquidate the heavy stocks they had acquired during the peak period. The decrease in demand has also caused strict competition in the pricing of building material products. The transportation and shipping cost also went up, which again had affects on the profit margins of the business. The delayed payments from customers were yet another burden on the companies in this industry,” he recalls.
Growth trajectory
Today, the 25,000 products supplied in Danube’s stores are sourced from the likes of Italian sanitary suppliers Fiore; American aluminium cladding Alubond; Spanish Parquet flooring specialists Faus; and other worldwide brands such Gyproc, Duropal, Chemetal and 3M.
In recognition of the strength of the business, Sajan last year received the Dubai Quality Appreciation Award, The Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award (MRM) and the Businessman of the Year Award.
But that’s not to say that if Sajan could do it all again, he would do things the same.
“It definitely feels good when your hard work is recognised and a prestigious award like MRM is everyone’s dream.
“It is but natural to make errors and what you learn from these mistakes allows you to apply them as lessons in your future decision making. A good leader should lead from the front and set benchmarks for others to follow.Fortunately, I am blessed with a team of great professionals within our group,” he continues.
With a working day that regularly spans from 9.30am to later than 8pm, Sajan repeats the importance of a strong team and good communication with to store in Danube’s network.
“By the time I walk into the office, my secretary would have prepared a fixed schedule of back to back meetings followed by a meeting with my core team to discuss further plans, operational issues, new opportunities and other issues that need to be immediately addressed,” he explains.
“I normally visit one of my showrooms every week to understand their growth, plans, issues and other concerns,” adding that the back to back schedule keeps him “young and energised”, he concludes: “I love meeting people as it gives me more insight to doing business better.”
