starting at the grocery store.(grocery store) 

Born in Thrissur, Kerala, young man MA Yusuf Ali had a dream of becoming a lawyer. But due to belonging to a business family, he too had to turn towards business. He started working at his father’s grocery store in Ahmedabad. After that he reached Dubai to work at a relative’s grocery store.(grocery store)  In fact, in the 1970s, migrants from India, especially from South India, went to work in Central-East Asia. There, he studied about import-export and super markets in countries like Australia, Bangkok, Singapore. From there his journey to become a big businessman started. At the age of 34, he opened the first supermarket in Dubai. Since then he came in the eyes of the world.
MA Yusuf Ali’s journey to become such a big businessman has not been easy. He had dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but because of his family, he took over his father’s grocery store in Ahmedabad. After taking a diploma degree in business, he reached his relative in Dubai to work in a grocery store. From there he learned the ABC’s of business.
While working in Dubai, he learned the nuances of the FMCG market and export and import business. Yusuf visited places like Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore to learn the tricks and trade of supermarket/hypermarket chains. From here, he started the business of opening supermarkets and malls.
At the age of 34, he opened his first supermarket in Abu Dhabi, which gave a great boost to his future ventures. In 1995, when he opened the largest supermarket in Abu Dhabi, he caught the eye of the UAE government and even the king.
In 2006, he started his business in India by opening the first Lulu Convention Center cum Hotel in Thrissur, Kerala. Bought 49.99% of Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) and Dhanlaxmi Bank in 2013. Apart from this, he opened Lulu Mall in Bangalore and Lucknow. At the same time, he also announced to bring IPO of his retail company in 2023.
Today MA Yusuf Ali is a billionaire Indian businessman who owns the $7.5 billion (revenue) LuLu Group International, which has 272 stores and retail centers across the Gulf and overseas. The company employs the largest number of Indians outside India. At the same time, MA Yusuf Ali was ranked first among the top 100 Indian businessmen in the Arab region by Forbes Middle East in the year 2018.

More recently MA Yusuf Ali has included the Waldorf Astoria in Scotland and the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the former headquarters of the UK Metropolitan Police.