AW Rostamani Group, also known as “AWR”, is a privately held company established in 1954 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by Al Rostamani brothers, Abdullah and Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani. The company is headquartered in Dubai and employs over 3,800 workers. The Group operates 12 companies in seven diverse sectors: automotive, real estate, retail, lighting, travel and logistics.
History
AW Rostamani began in 1951 when Abdul Wahid and his brother Abdullah Hassan Al Rostamani, two sons of a local pearl trader, took the decision to set up a family business on the shore of the Dubai Creek. Inspired by their passion for reading, the Al Rostamani brothers opened Dubai's first bookshop, Al Ahliya Library, in 1954, importing much sought after books from Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon by Gulf Air through Bahrain. Currently, the AW Rostamani Group is a conglomerate of 14 diversified companies.
Milestones
1954 Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani and his brother Abdullah opened Al-Ahliya Library, Dubai's first bookstore. 1957 General Trading company is established. 1968 Arabian Automobiles is established, an automotive and car dealership company. 1979 AW Rostamani Building Industries, a provider of services for the architectural and interior fit-out markets, is launched. 1981 Al Rostamani Real Estate is established to offer property development, leasing and asset management. 1982 Arabian Automobiles enters into partnership with INFINITI, Real Estate is established to offer property development, leasing and asset management services 1996 Sponsored the first Dubai Shopping Festival and its entertainment -Aqua Fantasia, a water themed fireworks show. 1998 AW Rostamani Logistics, a global logistics service provider, is established. AW Rostamani Lumina, manufacturer of luminaires and lighting control equipment, is launched Certified Quality Cars is established, subsequently renamed as Certified Pre Owned. 1999 AW Rostamani Lumina forms partnership with Spanish lighting brand, Frater. 2004 Start of partnership with Oracle. 2005 Arabian Automobiles enters a partnership with Renault. 2006 AW Rostamani Shift Technologies, an IT and business consulting firm, is established. 2007 AW Rostamani Group brand is established. 2008 AW Rostamani Shift Car Rental is established. AW Rostamani Excellencors, a consulting and training firm, is established. 2009 AW Rostamani Trading, distributor of various allied automotive products and services, is established. 2010 AW Rostamani Group enters the Indian market as Prime Honda AW Rostamani Trading enters Saudi Arabia as the distributor of ZNA cars and genuine ZNA parts. 2011 AW Rostamani Arabian Automobiles is the first automotive company in the region to implement a Customer Loyalty Program (Nissan Road Miles). AW Rostamani Trading appointed as the sole distributor of ZNA cars and genuine ZNA parts in Oman. AW Rostamani enters a partnership with KAR Freight & Forwarding to provide global customised and integrated logistics services. 2015 GE Lighting signs a partnership agreement with AW Rostamani Lumina. 2016 AW Rostamani Lifestyle expands retail stores with the launch of Georg Jensen, Graffiti Fashion Zone and Apartment 51. 2017 AW Rostamani sets up shop for multi brand secondhand cars. 2018 AW Rostamani acquires a majority stake in car retailer Brayleys. 2019 Hilton signs an agreement with AW Rostamani Group to develop a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Bur Dubai.
Key People
Khalid Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani is the Chairman of AW Rostamani. He started his career with the family group in 1993. Since then, he has been involved in managing and growing the diverse portfolio of companies under AW Rostamani. In addition to his management functions, Khalid manages AW Rostamani's corporate functions and corporate governance structures.
Huda Al Rostamani is the Managing Director and board member of AW Rostamani since 2007. She is the performance manager of the lifestyle companies under AW Rostamani Group.
Amina Al Rostamani is the Director and Board Member of AW Rostamani Group, and the Chief Executive Officer of AWR Properties. Previously group CEO of TECOM group, she is also currently a Board Member of Dubai Healthcare City Authority and Noor Bank.
Since 1990 Michel Ayat heads the Automotive division of AW Rostamani that consists of Arabian Automobiles, AW Rostamani Trading, Certified Pre-owned and Shift Car Rental.