Since 1930
A bag of salt and a bag of charcoal
Jan & Bros began with one man, one tent, and two sacks of goods on a Manama street corner. Four generations later, the same business supplies retailers across four Gulf markets.
The oldest photograph the Group holds of the business itself.
- c. 1925
The crossing
Mohtisham Mohammed Joofri left his native land as a young man and sailed to the pearl-rich island of Bahrain. He had fallen out with colleagues over his insistence on strict working discipline, and chose to begin again rather than compromise. He worked in a Manama cafeteria for two years while he found his footing.
- 1930
Two sacks under a tent
He began trading with a gunny bag of salt and a gunny bag of charcoal, under a makeshift tent. It took five more years to turn that pitch into a grocery shop outside the mosque in the heart of Manama.
- 1966
Joofri Gali
M. M. Joofri & Sons opened a self-serve supermarket on the parallel street. It drew customers from across the country in such numbers that the lane itself became known locally as Joofri Gali — Joofri Lane.
- 1967
Across the water
Jan Abdul Qadir Basha and Jan Abdul Rahman Mohtisham moved to Dubai and established Jan Bros. The first premises opened in Bur Dubai, trading perfumes, cosmetics, suitcases, briefcases and Moulinex appliances. Their brothers Abdul Gaffar and Ismail Mohtisham continued M. M. Joofri & Sons in Bahrain — one family operating in two markets.
- 1968
Provisioning the dhows
Transiting dhows became early customers — among them the Akbari, the Mohammedi and the Dwarka. “These customers used to come with a long list of items. It was fun and joy to fulfil their requirements within a limited time, and many a time work hours would stretch beyond midnight.” — Jan Abdul Rahman Mohtisham, Chairman
- 1985
The first brand
The family stopped trading only in other people's goods and created its own. The first brand was Concord; the first product, umbrellas. Every house brand since has followed from it.
Succession
A single business, carried by four generations without ever changing hands.
Nothing about this was inevitable. Families divide, businesses are sold, and the second generation is usually where continuity breaks. Here it did not — and the reason is visible in what each generation chose to do next.
1930
It began with a man who would rather start again than compromise.
Mohtisham Mohammed Joofri left his native land as a young man and sailed to Bahrain. He had fallen out with colleagues over his insistence on strict working discipline, and chose to begin again rather than give way. He worked two years in a Manama cafeteria while he found his footing.
In 1930 he began trading from a makeshift tent with a bag of salt and a bag of charcoal. Five years later that pitch was a grocery shop outside the mosque, and within a generation the lane it stood on had been renamed after the family.
1967
The family did not leave Bahrain for Dubai. It began trading in both, on the same day.
By then the founder had been joined by his four sons. Rather than hand the business to one of them, or move it wholesale to the faster market, the family split its attention deliberately — two sons crossing the water, two staying to build on what was already there.
Bahrain · continued
M. M. Joofri & Sons
Abdul Gaffar Mohtisham and Ismail Mohtisham stayed in Manama and expanded the business their father had started, into the supermarkets and trading houses that still carry his name.
Dubai · founded
Jan Bros
Jan Abdul Qadir Basha and Jan Abdul Rahman Mohtisham opened the first premises in Bur Dubai, trading perfumes, cosmetics, cases and Moulinex appliances — and provisioning the dhows that put in at the creek.
One family, two markets, one balance sheet of trust. Everything since has been an extension of that decision.
The third
generation
Expansion became specialisation.
The generation that followed did not inherit a single shop. It inherited two companies in two countries, and it grew them by dividing the work: retail operations and chain management, wholesale and procurement, real estate, international sales.
They took the Group into Oman in 2003 and Kuwait in 2010, built the house-brand portfolio that began with Concord in 1985, and opened the Group’s own retail. Responsibility passed by discipline rather than by seniority — which is why the leadership today reads as a set of specialisms rather than a line of heirs.
Today that responsibility sits with Haroon R. Mohtisham (president), A. Maktoom Jan (director of operations), Muhammad Siddiq Mohtisham (head of retail operations), Abdul Azeem Mohtisham (head of real estate) and Fauzan M. Mohtisham (head of business development & international sales).
The fourth generation has begun entering the business, beginning with Nabeet Mohtisham — continuing the family’s succession into its next century.
Expansion
One market at a time
Each market was entered from the one before it, and the Group still trades in every one of them.
- BH01
1930
Bahrain
Origin market
4 premises today
- AE02
1967
U.A.E.
Group headquarters & commercial centre
4 premises today
- OM03
2003
Oman
Wholesale distribution
2 premises today
- KW04
2010
Kuwait
Wholesale distribution
1 premise today
Timeline
1925 to today
Nineteen milestones, assembled from the Group's own records — including entries previously held only in leadership biographies and archived news.
- 1925
Arrival in Bahrain
BahrainMohtisham Mohammed Joofri sails to the Kingdom of Bahrain and works in a Manama cafeteria.
- 1930
M. M. Joofri & Sons founded
BahrainTrading begins from a makeshift tent with a bag of salt and a bag of charcoal.
- 1950
The second generation joins
BahrainM. M. Joofri is joined in the business by his four sons: Jan Abdul Qadir Basha, Jan Abdul Rahman Mohtisham, Abdul Gaffar Mohtisham and Ismail Mohtisham.
- 1966
Joofri Gali
BahrainA self-serve supermarket opens on the parallel street. The lane becomes known as Joofri Lane.
- 1967
Jan Bros established in Dubai
U.A.E.Two of the four second-generation brothers — Jan Abdul Qadir Basha and Jan Abdul Rahman Mohtisham, the present Chairman — establish Jan Bros in Dubai. The first premises open in Bur Dubai, trading perfumes, cosmetics, cases and Moulinex appliances. Their brothers Abdul Gaffar Mohtisham and Ismail Mohtisham continue and expand M. M. Joofri & Sons in Bahrain.
- 1968
Serving the dhow trade
U.A.E.Transiting dhows — the Akbari, Mohammedi and Dwarka among them — become early customers.
- 1970s
Move to Deira, and into wholesale
U.A.E.The business moves from Bur Dubai to Deira and begins wholesale trade in daily utilities — the model the Group still runs today.
- 1985
Concord — the first house brand
The Group begins developing and owning its own brands. The first product line is umbrellas.
- 1991
Saibeen Complex
IndiaA commercial mall is inaugurated in Mangalore, India — at the time among the finest in the state.
- 1992
Third generation joins
Muhammad Siddiq Mohtisham, of the third generation, joins M. M. Joofri & Sons in Bahrain.
- 1996
Retail management at scale
IndiaGroup management assumes operation of Saibeen Complex, then more than fifty outlets.
- 2003
Entry into Oman
OmanOperations begin with a premises in the wholesale market of Muttrah, Muscat.
- 2009
Foodstuff wholesale
U.A.E.Joofris General Trading is established in Dubai as a foodstuff wholesale division.
- 2010
Kuwait and Qatar
KuwaitThe Group expands into two further markets.
- 2016
Real estate division
A dedicated real estate operation is established within the Group.
- 2017
Golden Jubilee
U.A.E.Fifty years of Jan Bros in Dubai, marked on 15 May 2017 at Atlantis, The Palm, with long-associated clients and retired staff.
- 2019
Beautyworld Middle East
U.A.E.Henna Speedy exhibits at the region's principal beauty and personal care trade fair, 15–17 April.
- 2020
Concord Shoppe
U.A.E.A retail concept store opens in Dubai, bringing the full range under one roof in response to consumer demand.
- 2024
New Gold Souq Metro headquarters
U.A.E.The Group opens a new head office on the eighth floor of the Gold Souq Metro building, Deira — with Nabeet Mohtisham, of the fourth generation, now entering the business.
The Group’s published timeline currently ends at 2020. Entries for 2021 onward require client input.