Raja Company W.L.L. welcomes 2021 with our usual exuberance. Going on our 61th year, we are as young as the Nation of Kuwait, and share the same aspirations for development and progress. We owe this infectious attitude to none other than our founder, the late patriarch of our family, Mr. Govind Mirchandani.
When our founder landed at Kuwait in 1952, he immediately conceived it to be truly the land of milk and honey. True to vision, and within the decade, in 1961 Mr. Mirchandani established Raja General Store and Trading Company.
By building on his business acumen, and working very hard, Govind Mirchandani soon established Raja Stores as ‘the go to’ Department Store for gifts, books, perfumes, electrical appliances, materials, tailoring and toys. Time passed, the business flourished, and Raja Stores branched into audio and video distribution and grew in patronage and stature. Govind Mirchandani had moved on too, he was now the proud father of four children, two girls and two boys.
The fairy tale looked set to continue, however, as fate would have it, Kuwait and Raja Stores both suffered grievously during the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. It was three months before the family, that was abroad for the summer, heard from Govind Mirchandani again.
Bad times end too, Kuwait was liberated in February 1991, and it becomes time to pick up the pieces. It’s at times like this that the investment in family, society, and goodwill become evident, when after the liberation of Kuwait, the Mirchandani family and their well-wishers pulled together and re-established Raja Stores. It also set the scene for the next generation of Mirchandanis to step up to the wicket to bat.
The story of a hundred brands and the multitude of customers drawn to these brands commences here. Traditionally hard working, and business savvy by nature, as well as being well educated, the young Shalesh Mirchandani, popularly known as Rohit, was determined to elevate the family business to the next level.
An entrepreneur by nature, Rohit set about creating new and diverse business lines by researching niche markets as Safety Equipment and Mega Kitchen Equipment, and then moving on, and the journey continues...
Started in 1996, today Raja Company’s Safety Plus World Division, with showrooms in the industrial areas of Shuwaikh and Ahmadi, and a well-stocked warehouse in Shuaiba, represents reputed international brands of safety ware and equipment, and is an acknowledged market leader by its patrons that are all the local and International Oil and Gas companies in Kuwait. Safety Plus World has also spread its wings to the UAE and Oman markets.
The Safety Plus World Ahmadi service center with its trained technicians and instructor grade engineers is unique in Kuwait, and is part of Raja Company’s value proposition to its industrial customers. The Safety Plus World service center handles the servicing, repairs, and replacement of safety equipment that ranges from ‘Fall Protection’ on Oil Rigs, to the calibration of Gas Detectors that are used on and off shore. It is this high level of after sales services that keeps the major oil companies coming back to Safety Plus World for their safety wearables and equipment.
Good quality never goes out of fashion. Raja Company’s ‘Dynamics Kuwait’ brand for Kitchen Equipment is fast becoming a force to reckon with within the Mega Kitchens and Luxury Food’s suppliers’ market. With its head office & Showroom in Shuwaikh, Dynamics Kuwait has a loyal and growing clientele that ranges from reputed regional airlines, and cafes that use its premium coffee to delight their customers, to luxury hotels that appreciate Dynamic Kuwait’s range of heavy-duty kitchen equipment and its other premium food products portfolio.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Rohit soon ventured into interior designing and fabrication by setting up Worx Unlimited. This Raja Company’s Division designs and delivers interiors to offices, showrooms, and cafes. Worx Unlimited is a workhorse that also does steel fabrication and powder coating to produce kitchen equipment for Dynamics Kuwait, and works with different metal mediums to deliver turnkey projects to customers as the Ministry of Electricity and Water.
The wheel turns to Information Technology & Marketing, and the MicroSolutions Kuwait Division of Raja Company does everything from designing and hosting websites, to developing complex online solutions and mobile applications. Its services include providing e-commerce support services as SEO and social media digital marketing services to its customers. With typical visionary foresight, Rohit Mirchandani is moving this Division into the nascent IoT, and IIoT sphere, to ensure that another brainchild retains its place in the portfolio he will hand over to the next Mirchandani generation that is currently being groomed at the top business schools in Europe.
A firm believer that any organization’s greatest resource is its people, Rohit Mirchandani set up ‘Trainerz’ to deliver Safety Training, Management skills, and Leadership training, to not just his own cadre, but also to those of other likeminded organizations. Trainerz continuously encourages organizations to invest in developing their people by conducting regular courses in the proper use of Safety Equipment, and by sponsoring seminars and competitions that enhance the knowledge of safety professionals. The American Society of Safety Professionals often partner with Safety Plus World in organizing such events for the benefit of industry in Kuwait and abroad.
Now, before we sign off, let’s sit back, chill, and enjoy a delicious hot or cold beverage, accompanied by a tasty snack at any branch of ‘Not Just Any Café’, or indulge ourselves in a 'made from scratch', oven baked pizza, at any branch of ‘Pizza Inn’, both Raja Company’s imports to Kuwait’s lucrative casual dining market. After all, there is so much more to come from Raja Company in the future.
Only, let us not forget the Mirchandani conviction that true satisfaction comes from giving. Giving to family and friends, but mostly by giving to the poor and the needy, and aiding them with education and health care, and doing this for community upliftment and self fulfilment.