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Ali Bin Ali Beverages wins two prestigious awards

Ali Bin Ali Holding is delighted to announce that ABA Beverages, the exclusive bottler of PepsiCo in Qatar, has bagged two awards at the 2021 Regional Conference in Dubai. The first, recognizing the top performer in the Total Liquid Refreshment Beverages Growth for the year 2021 and the secondly for the largest most successful water innovation.

The award ceremony hosted by PepsiCo Middle East North Africa (MENA), gathered bottlers from all over the region as well as PepsiCo Regional Leadership and senior executives.  ABA Beverages was congratulated as the 2021 top performer in the below 60 million cases markets category for having achieved the highest share growth in total Liquid Refreshment Beverages. The market share is measured by   Canadean – an independent, global research agency who publishes monthly market survey reports.

The second award recognized the largest, most successful water innovation. ABA Beverages was again selected as a winner for the success of Aquafina in Qatar in 2021, once again confirming the company’s strategic commitment and investment capabilities.

Commenting on the awards, ABA Beverages General Manager, Mr. Marc Karam reiterated that he was delighted to receive the 2 accolades on behalf of the company. Mr. Karam said, “These awards reflect the strong commitment of Ali Bin Ali Holding who have invested ahead of the curve and continued to promote the growth of PepsiCo brands in Qatar. As an organization, ABA has stewarded Pepsi’s brands and range of products with utmost pride and continues to invest in growing the business against all sorts of challenges.”

ABA Beverages General Manager also went on to say “I commend the passion and the drive of ABA Beverages associates. This determined team managed to install and commission a full state of the art line during the pandemic and worked through the lockdown in 2020, gaining 32% Canadean share of market over the course of 18 months. That’s a huge achievement and we can  celebrate it”.

Congratulations to Team ABA Beverages!

 

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ABA Watches & Jewelry Kuwait goes fully online with HSBC net

In an   achievement for the Group, Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Watches & Jewelry Kuwait has become the first entity in ABA Group to go fully online using all three main services offered under HSBC net

This is the first entity under the ABA Group to use the trade portal for making supplier payments using Clean Import Loans (CIL) under HSBC net. With this new addition, they will be using three services offered under HSBC net namely, for online salary transfers, regular supplier payments using priority payments and now for import loans using their trade portal.

With this, most of the manual transactions will now be digitized and approved online. Considering that this entity is operating outside of Qatar , migrating to a digitized environment will bring in many benefits such as reducing paper work   , substantially reducing  couriering charges for sending documents for approval and most importantly improving productivity of employees due to the  transaction approval cycle being shorter and streamlined .

Going forward, the ABA Holding Finance Department plans to replicate the HSBC net trade solution for ABA entities in Qatar.

The project was wholeheartedly supported by ABA Holding’s Vice-Chairman & EVP Mr. Nabeel Ali Bin Ali and the Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Iftekhar Ahmad. Instrumental in the whole process of moving to a completely digitized platform was Group Treasury Manager Fawaz Ismail & the treasury team, Head of Finance in Kuwait Suranga Perera & the Kuwait team, Group Audit Manager Kamal Uddin Gazi Jishan and the Internal Audit team, Group Accounting Manager Fathima Shiham, Financial Controller Mathew N. Thomas (Vinu) & the Accounting team.

Speaking about this commendable development, Mr. Iftekhar said: “Digitization is the future of all financial activities and we are glad that we are keeping up with the times. Definitely this will pave the way for the entire Group to adopt more digital solutions not just with HSBC but also with other banks that offer online banking facilities.”

 

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Ali Bin Ali Holding’s Administration Department Hosts Annual Team Get-Together

Ali Bin Ali Holding’s Administration Department has built an ongoing tradition over the years to celebrate the year gone by at its annual Team Get-together. The 23rd of December 2021 marked the special day and the administration Team made it an event to remember. The team gathered together for a celebratory lunch, held at their office in Ali Bin Ali Tower.

The get together drew the entire Administration team including Mr. Moataz Ahmed Eid, General Manager Administration and HR, with the only absentees being the team members who were on leave. According to everyone present, the Department staff who were away on leave were roundly missed at the gathering.

The afternoon began with a warm welcome speech delivered by Mr. Moataz. The General Manager made it point to affirm and encourage the team as he placed on record his appreciation for the efforts of the full administration team. Special mention was made about the fact that Ali Bin Ali Holding’s Administration staff excelled at holding fort during tough times and have served the group efficiently during the pandemic.

Even with COVID-19 at its peak, the team continued to support the full spectrum of the Ali Bin Ali group and ensure business continuity. Mr. Moataz rounded off his address by wishing each and every staff member and their families an enjoyable and peaceful holiday season. He did not forget to add a word of encouragement, requesting the team and their families to stay safe. He ended his speech by wishing the Administration Team all the very best for the year 2022.

To add a layer of excitement to the event, organizers had planned several games and interactions, that were enjoyed by all. Team members also received certificates of appreciation and goodie bags. To add to the atmosphere of joy there was a raffle draw with surprise gifts for several lucky staff members. The sessions was concluded with a sumptuous lunch and promise of similar get-togethers in the future.

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ABA Holding employees graduate from The Harvard Managementor Program 2020-2021

Ali Bin Ali Holding is proud to congratulate 44 ABA graduates, who successfully completed the Harvard ManageMentor program 2020-2021. As a premier capacity building and skills development course run by Harvard Business Publishing, under Harvard University, the program ranks as the world’s leading digital learning experience that leverages on-demand, world-class content to develop leaders at all levels.

ABA Holding is delighted that 44 of our professionals, drawn from different ABA business streams elevated themselves, their skills and knowledge and capitalized on the learning opportunity provided for them. ABA particularly recognizes the commitment and focus of these graduates who firmly stayed on course, despite the pandemic related challenges that 2021 brought. By graduating from a world-renown course, not only has the year ended well for them, but they have also enriched the company by growing and developing their skills and competencies, which will no doubt advance performances at all levels.

Warmly congratulating the group of graduates Group General Manager Human Resources Aldrine Fernandez said, “We celebrate the 2021 batch of Harvard ManageMentor graduates and we applaud their achievement. We were privileged to witness the level of commitment to their learning journey during a challenging year. Today, these graduates stand as a group who have successfully upscaled their skills, knowledge and capacities. That is something we can all be proud of. From HR perspective, ABA Holding always steps forward to equip and empower our people at the highest levels possible. It is heartening for us to see our employees embrace the opportunities they have been given and make maximum use of programs like Harvard ManageMentor”.

The Harvard ManageMentor Program is composed of 25 short online courses that are available to all learners to help develop the most in-demand skills for today’s global market.  Each course summarizes critical ideas and advice on essential management topics such as leading teams, project management, strategic thinking, and much more.  A series of café sessions were facilitated as a platform to interact and learn from one another – share best practices and work as a team to formulate best conclusions on case studies.  These sessions were primarily conducted by Eleni Ntoulaveri, Group Learning & Development Manager with a couple of sessions conducted by Aldrine Fernandez, Group General Manager Human Resources.

 

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Ali Bin Ali & Partners’ Consumer Agencies 1 gather for year-end party

On December 11, 2021 Ali Bin Ali & Partners’ (ABAP) Consumer Agencies (CAG) 1 gathered for a year-end party at the Garden City compound, Doha. The year-end event has been the tradition not only in CAG1, but also for other line of businesses within ABAP.

One of the primary objectives of the gathering was to showcase how the business performed throughout the year and to recognize individual employee contribution, adding to business efficiencies in all the variables that led to overall success.

The event highlighted new strategies to combat the impending challenges in the market with various inputs from the team inspired by a well-known industrialist, Henry Ford – “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” This gave a clear visibility to the team in terms of what the Division’s priorities are and where they want to take it forward.

CAG1 is responsible for some of the leading global products distributed in Qatar, such as Kellogg’s, Pringles, Colgate-Palmolive, etc. Team CAG1 embraced the idea of teamwork and celebrated success to sustain employee engagement activities.

The evening became even more exciting with the announcement of employee performance recognitions. They were categorically split into different levels – Initiative, Consistent and Exceeding Expectations along with the rolling trophies which intend to pass every year to the new achievers.  A few raffle gifts were drawn that spiced up the program.

The night ended with a special word from the ABAP General Manager, Mr. Viji Kurien, followed by a sumptuous meal. Thanking every one present, Mr. Kurien said: “It is the joint effort of the entire CAG1 team that has made 2021 a successful year for the business. We should maintain this focus with consistent performance and move towards a brighter future.”

 

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ABA IT Department takes a break from work, enjoys a fun bowling evening


Bringing a much-needed change to the everyday routine, Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding’s Information Technology Department organized a special bowling event on December 8, 2021, in Gondolania at Villaggio Mall.

The fun evening was planned with the idea of stressing the importance of ensuring a healthy work-life balance, which is essential for mental wellbeing as well as better productivity.

All members of the ABA IT Department gathered in the bowling area and the games started at 5pm. Two game sets were played with the participation of 31 members. After an exciting display of bowling skills and a thrilling head-to-head competition, the three top scorers were Osama Abdul Rahman Hamad (253), Sabin Sabu (221) and Noor Muhammad Malik (221).

After the games, the team settled down for a relaxed dinner of pizza. The night concluded on a happy note as the ABA IT team went back home rejuvenated and refreshed.

Speaking about the event, Group General Manger of ABA IT Department Youssef Moussa said: “We believe social activities are very important for the well-being of employees. In the past, we have organized volleyball, football, basketball and similar events. These events were arranged on a quarterly basis. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic we stopped for some time. Now, we have resumed these activities again.”

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Galeries Lafayette Doha proudly celebrates Qatar National Day 2021

Commemorating the greatness of the nation, Galeries Lafayette Doha is all set to celebrate Qatar National Day (QND) in its own unique style. On December 1, the Department Store inaugurated specially dressed windows that emanates the pride that Qatar National Day entails.

For this special occasion, Galeries Lafayette Doha once again collaborated with local Qatari artists Fahad Al Maadheed and Nasser Al Kubaisi to create some exclusive visuals to adorn the store. The artists created exclusive lines of artwork to offer a unique and captivating experience for visitors at Galeries Lafayette Doha, setting the right tone for the celebrations.

While artist Fahad Al Maadheed is already well-known for his art and also for his paintings on leather goods such as handbags, wallets and phone covers, Nasser Al Kubaisi is a new star on the horizon. An interior designer and a digital artist, Nasser has received a lot of attention and his works can be found in different public spaces and the National Museum Gift Shop.

Fahad’s art installations aim to strengthen the national identity by going back to the past. His work embodies those who built and defended the land since historical times. The window takes us back in time and the spirit of the past and present converges through art.

The main inspiration of Nasser’s art is, if Van Gogh was in Qatar, how he would admire the beauty of the Galleries Lafayette Doha building. The concept of his window revolves round an exclusive live artwork that you can experience as you watch it moving and becoming alive. It is an eclectic combination of art and technology that creates an illusion of movement and live painting.

Fahad, who has exhibited his art in Galeries Lafayette Doha before, said: “It is indeed a pleasure to be part of Galeries Lafayette Doha’s Qatar National Day celebrations. This is a perfect platform to display my special QND art that depicts the richness of Qatari heritage and my passion for it.”

Speaking about his presence at Galeries Lafayette Doha, Nasser said: “Just as Van Gogh himself said, ‘I dream my painting and I paint my dream’, my art is my dream. I am humbled by the opportunity to be able to present my art to the clientele of Galeries Lafayette Doha on the auspicious occasion of Qatar National Day. It is my tribute to my nation and its people.”

The theme of the celebrations is also reflected in exclusive dishes created for the occasion at the restaurants and cafes in Galeries Lafayette Doha. Limited-edition desserts and a savory item have been carefully designed to celebrate the occasion. Each dish is a gastronomical delight and equally satisfying for the eye and soul.

The General Manager of Galeries Lafayette Doha, Kevin Gerard Pender said: “Celebrating Qatar National Day every year is a part of the Department Store’s tradition. It is also a perfect stage to highlight the unparalleled talent of the local artists and merge together patriotism and art with retail.”