Kanan Nand Kapadia, the first female director of Khimji Ramdas, shares her views on what the new generation has to offer to sustain and enhance the 150-year long legacy of the group. 
Passing the baton of family business on to the next generation is perhaps one of the most critical challenges facing business owners the world over. According to US-based Family Firm Institute, only less than one third of family businesses survive into the second generation, globally; while 12 per cent of them make it into the third, only about 3 per cent operate into the fourth or beyond. But in Oman we have an almost 150-year old conglomerate, which has already run into the sixth generation of its operations, and counting. Its current board of directors straddles three generations (fourth, fifth and sixth), with an age difference of 54 years between the oldest member and the youngest one.
What’s the secret sauce for this remarkable resilience and adaptability shown by Khimji Ramdas (KR) Group, one of the most diversified business houses in the Sultanate? Kanan Nand Kapadia, the first female director of the group, attributes it to the beautiful blend of experience and innovation, and a well-balanced coexistence of old and new generations that accommodate and complement each other.
“We have a unique mix of old and new generations to run the business efficiently and smoothly”, she says. The old generation built it from scratch, grew it against many imponderables and bequeathed to younger ones who take it to new heights, synergistically integrating the changing market conditions with the times-tested values and ideals of the family.
“As a company, we accord top priority to nurturing the future generation and preparing them for responsible roles within the family business. I belong to the fifth generation, and one of my nieces who is from the sixth generation has joined the business very recently.”
Elaborating on what the new generation has to offer to sustain and enhance the legacy of KR that has been evolved over the last one and a half century, she waxes philosophical quoting Alfred Lord Tennyson’s evergreen lines from Morte d’Arthur: “The old order changeth yielding place to new/ And God fulfills himself in many ways/ Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”
Smooth sailing
KR’s operations are divided into four verticals:  Lifestyle, Consumer Products, Infrastructure and Projects & Logistics. Since the company was professionalised some 15 years ago, family members moved to the board leaving the day-to-day running to non-family professionals, who are accountable and report to the family board. Each one of the family members on the board is given a vertical to oversee, and the CEO of that vertical reports to that board member. The directors ensure that things are run seamlessly, professionals have a smooth sailing and there is no delay in decision making.
Kanan who has recently been inducted to the board looks after the consumer products group (CPG), which is the oldest business started by KR probably around 100 years ago. Today, it includes Procter & Gamble (P&G), Philip Morris, supermarket chains including SPAR, Police Welfare Stores, consumer distribution logistics and other FMCG goods. In addition, as part of KR’s Indian operation, she looks after the distribution of Britannia and P&G products in some parts of India.
But a new director has an induction period during which she/he gets trained in all the important divisions of KR Group.  It helps them get a holistic picture of the group, understand about the management, functions, roles and responsibilities of each division and equips them to take informed decisions.  “I worked with all the divisions and we have to build a strong relationship and inculcate our fundamentals such as trust, commitment and care within the group. In successful family businesses, strategies will change, but the values remain very stable over generations. As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, ‘Trust is the breath of business, ethics its limbs, to uplift the spirit its goal’,” she avers.
Kanan moved into Oman recently after spending 17 years abroad. Before being inducted to the family business, she worked in India with Ambience D’arcy, a Mumbai-based media and marketing company. Earlier, she had a brief stint with Saatchi & Saatchi, while she was studying in UK. This was followed by seven years as a school teacher in India. She thinks that all these were instrumental in preparing her for the current role.
As the new board member, Kanan sets her goals high and aspires to strive for introducing changes and innovation within her division.  Currently she is concentrating on the expansion of SPAR supermarkets across the Sultanate. SPAR Oman plans to open 21 stores in Oman by the end of 2018. Some of the Khimji Mart outlets in Oman were already rebranded and converted to SPAR Supermarkets.
Kanan, who recently attended a SPAR training session in the US, feels that despite the presence of larger malls and hypermarkets, there is huge potential for setting up a network of SPAR convenient stores across the length and breadth of Oman.  She is also looking to expand the KR’s distribution portfolio by introducing new international brands to the Omani market.
But she firmly believes that she is still in the learning process of the business. “I am trying to understand what is going on; and I am very eager to learn from the senior directors, like my father and my uncles. I also work very closely with my CEOs and all the people working with me to understand more about what they are doing. Every market has its own peculiarities and I want to understand the business in Oman before I put in my ideas.”
Geared to meet challenges
Asked about the strategies to weather the tough market condition in the wake of falling oil prices, Kanan exudes confidence that, as a well-diversified group which hummed its way through tough times, KR is well positioned to overcome any challenges. Storms are bound to happen. But KR has proved that preserving tradition is not clinging to old practices and reinventing the wheel, but it is all about constant adaptation, flexibility and staying relevant by blending new ideas and processes with wisdom distilled through the ages.
With the dynamic fifth generation and sixth generation directors of Kanan’s stature at the helm, coupled with the time-tested entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen of the seasoned leaders from the fourth generation, KR is poised to tackle the rough times and endeavour to stay ahead of the curve.