Fitaihi Holding Group

About the founder and Founding Story

Hassan Ahmed Fitaihi^[7] comes from a long line of craftsmen, with his father working in silver jewelry making since 1887 in the Holy City of Mecca. In 1907, Hassan Fitaihi established a gold shop that is regarded as the very first in what has grown into today’s Gold Market of the port city of Jeddah.^[8] In 1932, following the creation of Saudi Arabia, Fitaihi relocated his family from Mecca to join him in Jeddah.^[9] A decade later, Hassan had his first and only child, named Ahmed, after Hassan’s own father.^{[10] [11]}

Growth Phase

Ahmed began learning about his father’s business when he was only six years old. His father would bring him to the shop to help out on most days after school, as Hassan had vision difficulties and could not see very well. When Ahmed turned twelve, his father became ill and Ahmed was forced to quit school to assist with managing the store. His father’s friend Abdul Ghani Sulaimani, a prominent Meccan trader, assumed the role of a mentor to young Ahmed, instructing him in a business strategy that Ahmed would adopt and follow for years to come — making small but consistent profits to draw in more clients.^[12]

After completing his secondary education via homeschooling,^[13] in 1962, 20-year-old Ahmed went on a trip to Italy; he returned with one kilogram of gold, making him one of the first jewelers to import gold from Italy to Saudi Arabia.^[14] Two years later, he married and had two children, Maha and Walid. By this point, he had developed a strong passion for jewelry, and knew he wanted to pursue a career in jewel trading for the rest of his life.^[15]

In 1964, a royal decree was passed in Saudi Arabia allowing companies to be created under a limited liability model. Ahmed and Hassan established a limited liability partnership — one of the first in the country — under the name H Fitaihi & Son; Hassan, resistant to the idea of disclosing financial data to the government, had declined to set it up as a limited liability company. Together, they invested 90,000 Saudi riyals, with Ahmed contributing a third of the capital.^[16]

In the late 1960s, a business family close to the Fitaihis became embroiled in a dispute after the founding father passed away, leading to the collapse of their business. Having witnessed this, Hassan Fitaihi advised his son to withdraw from their joint concern and undertake something independently.^[17] In 1970, Ahmed opened his own store under the name Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi. ^[18]

By the middle of the decade, the Saudi economy was enjoying unprecedented prosperity thanks to the oil boom. Real estate investments by newly wealthy Saudi businessmen skyrocketed. Ahmed followed the lead of many of his peers and invested his entire fortune in real estate — a venture that proved unsuccessful as his money was stolen by the so-called developer he’d backed, who fled the country?. Now in difficult financial circumstances, Ahmed had to sell his house and move with his family into a rented apartment. Ahmed subsequently steered clear of the real estate field. The price of gold soon went up significantly; Ahmed, who had retained a significant holding in gold, sold it at the right moment, making a significant profit that helped him get back on his feet.^[19]

Having accompanied Hassan on multiple trips to London, where his father received medical treatment, Ahmed had become fascinated with the city’s large department stores.^[20] In 1984, the family business grew into a group, and Ahmed opened Jeddah’s first department store, Fitaihi Center; before long, the family name was a well-recognized one in the field of luxury goods and services.^[21] Nearly a decade later, the group opened a second department store, in Riyadh.^[22] Seven more stores followed.^[23] In 1995, Ahmed Fitaihi acquired the world’s second-largest diamond, weighing over 100 carats, a purchase that made a place for the Fitaihi name in Guinness World Records.^[24]

In 1998, under the leadership of the second generation, the family business was transformed into a public shareholding company.^[25] Ahmed Fitaihi acquired Marina B, a jewelry house launched by Marina Bulgari, the following year.^[26] Soon after the turn of the millennium, Fitaihi established the first jewelry store in Saudi Arabia to be completely run by Saudi women.^[27]

Today

Fitaihi Holding Group is now the franchiser and distributor of an array of leading international brands in Saudi Arabia, including Mont Blanc, Dunhill, Sarcar, Louis Erard, Saint Louis, Rebecca, Derek Rose, Talento, Christian Dior, and Breitling.^[28] The group, with 55 branches across Saudi Arabia,^[29] has multiple subsidiaries including, Sadook International Investment Holding, Medmac Gulf Real Estate Investment Company, and — with 80 percent ownership — Luxury Goods Trading Company.^[30] Second-generation Ahmed serves as the chairman of the board of directors.^[31] The third generation are involved only as shareholders.^[32]