What LuLu Group Teaches About Empathy-First Business Model 

Expats felt far from home

The Problem

1973.

Abu Dhabi.

Thousands arrive for work.

No taste of home.

No known places.

No familiar food.

Scribbled Underline

Yusuff Ali saw the gap

Not a product problem

An emotional one

Arrow
Arrow

Empathy-first. Business-second.

The Strategy

Most retailers see

customers

LuLu saw

people

People who missed

home.

Core business begins.

Year 1989

goods from the sub-continent

LuLu begins selling

Burst

Kerala Rice

Burst

Punjabi Spices

Burst
Burst

Eastern Pulses

Deccan Crops

olden times

Flashbacks of

Scribbled Underline

memories

memories

Not goods,

Not goods,

No one in-between

Direct from farms.

27 countries.

Sourcing from 27 countries.

Emotional loyalty drove growth

The Impact

What do we learn?

The Takeaway

It is a

We Learn That

competitive

advantage.

Empathy is not

just a feeling.

- Keep upskilling.

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