DANUBE BUILDMART, a leading company in the Middle East with an AED55 million retail complex in Jeddah, was established in Saudi Arabia in 2009 to provide the best quality building materials at a competitive price. Danube has branches across the Middle East, with 20 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), alone. “The Saudi Arabian market has great potential, and lots of big projects are underway, which is why we thought it was very important for us to have a base in the Kingdom so that we can provide the best quality building materials at a competitive price,” said Rizwan Sajan, the founder and chairman of Danube BUILDMART. “Driven by our success in the rest of the GCC, we were confident that our presence in the Kingdom would provide a significant boost to the local building materials market,” he added. Danube BUILDMART is the place to find a single-source solution, with everything needed for construction available under one roof. “We are very confident that we will be able to provide very good building materials at highly competitive prices, which in many cases will be much lower than what other businesses are charging. The Jeddah retail complex is our response to the demand for high quality construction materials in Saudi Arabia, especially in this growing city.” In 2009 Danube BUILDMART planned to invest AED75 million in Saudi Arabia and planned to open other outlets here. Danube hopes to play a significant role in the construction of the Kingdom's six mega-economic cities. With the growing demand from both end-users, suppliers and contractors, Danube has plans to further expand its presence in the Kingdom with the construction of two new dedicated factories for gypsum ceiling tiles and melamine pressing units. Danube Group started as a single showroom in Deira, Dubai, back in 1993. Today, Danube has grown into a multi-billion turnover company and has showrooms in 25 locations across the GCC and India. Danube Group has procurement offices and factories in Canada, Malaysia and China. The group now offers more than 25,000 products and has over 3.5 million square feet of logistics and warehousing area. Even during the peak of the financial crisis, the group managed to maintain a steady growth. “Danube Group achieved phenomenal growth of 25 percent in 2010. Also, over 1,200 employees are currently associated with Danube and it is one of the most sought-after employers in the entire Middle East. As part of its market diversification, Danube has diversified into the retail market under the brand name of BUILDMART. A major expansion plan of AED200 million is already being implemented for the BUILDMART brand,” he explained. “With regard to the Saudi youth, we will support them and provide the best opportunities we can from our end.” Danube Group won two prestigious awards last year – the Dubai Quality Appreciation Program and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Business Award. All this was achieved under the tutelage and foresight of one man – Rizwan Sajan. “Never be satisfied with what you achieve, always strive to achieve more. Then success will automatically follow; that's my success mantra,” he stated. Danube achieved 25 percent growth in 2010 and Sajan expects to continue the upward journey next year. The company witnessed AED1.25 billion turnover during the year, compared to AED1 billion in 2009. In the last five years it has achieved four-fold growth in its turnover as well as in revenues. “Our target was 30 percent growth in revenue by the end of 2010, but I am happy with 25 percent, which is in total contrast to the industry's direction,” Sajan disclosed. Started as a building materials supplier seven years ago, the company transformed into a one-stop shop concept called ‘Danube BUILDMART' in 2009 to target the retail segment. It has a total of 22 global retail facilities — 16 in the UAE, two in Oman, one each in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and two in India. The company added 10,000 new products to its portfolio for BUILDMART to meet housing needs, Sajan said, adding: “Now our total product portfolio is 25,000.” Sajan was named Businessman of the Year at Ahlan! Masala Awards 2010 in Dubai. Earlier the company was awarded the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MRM) Business Award in the Free Zone for Re-Export category. The company also won the Dubai Quality Award in recognition of its quality of service. “It took loads of hard work, sheer determination, planning and strategic development to build Danube from a two person-team to a whopping 1,000strong-employee empire. Thus when we do business, each of our clients feel at home, as it has always been a very special one-on-one ideology. Our customers, suppliers, employees, agents and distributors remain valued members of this expanding relationship,” Sajan explained. Among Danube's latest expansion initiatives are the AED100 million BUILDMART retail complexes in Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE), Fujairah (UAE), Dubai Festival City (UAE), Bahrain, Al-Ain, Bawadi Mall, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai, and Jeddah, offering more than 25,000 different products. Danube's inaugural retail complex is designed to cater to a diverse target audience including interior designers, consultants and homeowners. Furthermore, all the products in the facility are installed in an actual home set-up, thereby allowing customers a more convenient way to shop for building materials, fixtures and other household items. Danube BUILDMART also offers a personalized retail store experience with excellent service and design assistance to help ‘do-it-yourself' and ‘buy-it yourself' customers redecorate their homes. It provides inspiration to discerning, quality-conscious buyers of interior decorative products and home fixtures through the colors and modern designs of the products it offers. The store offers more than 25,000 different products ranging from chandeliers, light fittings, wallpapers, Venetian blinds, luxury bathroom fittings, shower rooms, kitchens, curtains, carpets, massage bathtubs, parquet flooring, ceramic/Gris porcelain wall and flooring tiles, and architectural hardware. In addition to a wide range of building materials and design options that cater to every budget, BUILDMART also provides customers expert advice from highly-trained professionals on the best products, design materials and other design-related inquiries though its Design Center.
