M. A. Yusuff Ali

Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, popularly known as M. A. Yusuff Ali (born 15 November 1955), is Indian businessman and billionaire.

He is the chairman and managing director of LuLu Group International, which owns the LuLu Hypermarket chain worldwide and LuLu International Shopping Mall.

With an annual turnover of US$8.4 billion, LuLu Group International employs the largest number of Indians outside India.

Yusuff Ali was born in a Muslim family in Nattika in Thrissur district of Kerala on 15 November 1955.

He did his schooling in Karanchira at St. Xavier's High School.

He holds a diploma in Business Management and Administration.

After his studies, he left India in 1973 to Abu Dhabi, where his paternal uncle, M K Abdullah, the chairman and the founder of the LuLu Group of Companies, was doing business.

He developed the import and wholesale distribution of the group and ventured into the supermarket business by launching Lulu Hypermarket.

By the 1980s, the group had a sizable share of the wholesale and retail food market in the UAE.

The group has grown into an international group with operations spread over three continents.

The group's flagship retail chain of LuLu Hypermarkets and Supermarkets is currently rated as one of the major players in the Middle East retail sector with more than 100 stores in Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

Apart from the hypermarkets, supermarkets and department stores, the group also owns several shopping malls, namely, Khalidiyah Mall, Al Raha Mall, Al Wahda Mall, Mushriff Mall, Madinat Zayed Mall, Mazyad Mall, Ramli Mall, RAK Mall, Al Foah Mall, Al Khor Mall, Riyadh Avenue Mall in Saudi Arabia and Oman Avenues Mall spread across the GCC states.

He started his first Lulu Hypermarket in the 1990s, a time when the UAE's retail sector witnessed a major change, with the traditional groceries and supermarkets yielding place to large neighborhood stores and hypermarkets.

While the entry of Continent (now Carrefour) in 1995 changed the face of retail business in Dubai, Yusuff Ali took charge of Abu Dhabi's retail sector by rolling out LuLu Hypermarket.

LuLu Group International commenced its operations as a family business venture.

After joining the business, Yusuff Ali diversified the business to include import and distribution of frozen products from Europe and the United States.

The products were available not only in Abu Dhabi but also in other Emirates.

The business was soon expanded to include both food and non-food categories.

The group also started cold storages, meat, and food processing plants, large-scale import and distribution to hotel groups, catering companies, and shipping services.

In 2006, he started his large business ventures in India, by starting a convention centre cum hotel at his native place Thrissur, Kerala namely Lulu Convention Centre.

In 2013, Yusuff Ali acquired 4.99% of the Thrissur-based Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) and 4.99% shares of Thrissur based Dhanlaxmi Bank.

Also in 2013, he increased his stake in the Aluva-based Federal Bank to 4.47%.

Lulu group's First Mall in India was LuLu International Shopping Mall, Kochi started in 2013, then in 2019, he started shopping mall in India at Triprayar, Thrissur, Kerala, the Y Mall.

In October 2021, Lulu group opened their second mall in India, Global Mall, at Rajaji Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

In December 2021, Lulu group opened their third mall in India at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

In July 2022, Lulu group opened their fourth mall in India at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

And in 2023, LuLu Group launches a new hypermarket and mall in Hyderabad, as well as a hypermarket in Coimbatore.

LuLu International Shopping Mall in Kochi, Kerala was opened on 10 March 2013.

It is the group's first retail venture in India, and currently the largest shopping mall in India.

LuLu International Shopping Mall in Thiruvananthapuram was opened in 2021.

The Group has a vast organizational structure of over 65,000 employees, representing 42 different nationalities, out of which more than 30,000 are Indians.

Retail business is the mainstay of the Group with operations in major Middle Eastern and African countries like UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Kenya, having Retail Sourcing and manufacturing bases located in Far East, India, Africa and Guangzhou in China.

Indian operations mainly include Food Processing, Export of Food & Non food products and convention center with bases in Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Lucknow and Thrissur.

In 2014 Yusuff Ali acquired 2% stake of South Indian Bank - another Thrissur based bank.

In 2016, Yusuff Ali purchased the Scotland Yard Building in London.

, he held a 9.37% share in Cochin International Airport.

He has bought a 10% stake in the UK-based trading firm, East India Company, and a 40% stake in its fine foods subsidiary for around $85 million in total.

The Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre on Bolghatty Island in Kochi is one of the largest convention centres in South Asia, along with Grand Hyatt hotel in the same campus.

According to Forbes Middle East, Yusuff Ali was ranked No. 1 in Top 100 Indian business owners in the Arab World 2018.

As per Forbes billionaires list published in October 2023, he was ranked 27th richest Indian with net worth of US$6.9 billion.