Mohammad Iqbal B.H. AlawiCEO of Red Sea Markets Co Ltd. Published On: Tuesday, April 05, 2016 Views 3021

“There is no path to peace, peace is the path.”

Mohammad Iqbal B.H. Alawi has extensive experience in the field of Business and Marketing. A true strategist and a believer of allah, Mr. Alawi believes in building a good team and pragmatic learning. After serving at high positions in companies and organizations like SKAB Group, Savola Groupe KSA- Modern Marafiq Real Estate Company, Middle East council of Shopping Malls, Majid Al Futtaim Groupe (Dubai), InRetail Summit, Jeddah chamber, and more, Mr. Alawi has proven to be an asset to the retail industry. His project, The Red Sea Mall is built by connecting two buildings. One building houses a luxurious 5-star hotel and the other one has shopping mall.

What inspired you to build the above product/ service?

My experience tells me to always believe in excellence. I try to learn from every board meeting I have attended around the world, from every conference, exhibition, seminar or workshop. This learning habit reflects on our business and my role as a CEO of the leading shopping mall in Saudi Arabia.

What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?

Our challenge is that we are not developing a regular shopping mall. Our mall comes with a wide variety of services and large number of luxurious brands. So, we have to provide the additional value that attracts people to our mall.

Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service?

Red Sea Mall is a one stop shopping and entertainment complex connected to two vital buildings, one of them is a five-star hotel that has direct access to the mall and the other is an office building, which includes SEDCO’s HQ, our mother holding company.

What is your life mantra?

During school days, they used to teach us a very important saying, which is “Don’t delay today’s job until tomorrow”. Every day, I try my best to apply this wisdom in all everything. I try hard not to leave a single paper on my disk and I believe in having an open channel communications between team members.

Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now?

At RSM, we do not focus on money, but on what I usually call collective benefits. In the last 8 years since RSM was launched, our total retail sales has exceeded 15 – 20 billion Saudi Riyals. We also enjoy a very high investment rate from our retailers and shareholders.

How did you overcome those challenges?

Personally, I believe in teamwork. With teamwork, you get the right service at the right time and when you have a good team, you will need planning, as everything depends on vision. We follow up on our plans on a weekly and monthly basis to make sure that we are on the right track.

How do you protect yourself from the problem of Brain Drain?

Good working environment makes our employees happy. Listening to them makes them feel important and good incentives make them more productive. This is our policy that enables us to be one of the leading shopping and entertainment hubs in the Middle East.

According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?

I believe that a good person should have positive attitude, ability to accept criticism and good problem solving skills.

Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?

Twitter and Facebook

Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive?

Chewing gum sometimes relaxes my brain, and sometimes makes me more energetic especially when I am under pressure. Also, watching documentaries always inspires me.

Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself?

I would like to control my anger

Answer in less than 50 words: