Jumbo will continue to grow and evolve: Vidya M Chhabria

“My outlook on life has evolved over the years, and so has my sense of purpose. What hasn’t changed is my love for this organisation and its people. Jumbo will continue to grow and evolve in keeping with the times. We must remain at the forefront of delivering quality products and services to our customers, clients and partners while keeping alive and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit and integrity – the two values I have imbibed from my husband. It’s possible only in a collaborative workplace with inclusive leadership, which is what I’ve always worked towards,” said Vidya M Chhabria, Chairperson, Jumbo Group – a UAE-based electronics major.

Established in 1973 Jumbo Group has presence in the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the wider Middle East and Africa region. in the UAE alone, Jumbo operates 17 stores with 89,000 square feet space, three million annual footfalls across stores and 11 million annual online shoppers.

The Group entered the new fiscal FY 2023-24 on a high, owing to consistent and steady growth witnessed across the Group’s businesses. What’s more, this year Jumbo Group is celebrating its 50^th anniversary and gearing up to strengthen its omnichannel retail business as well as the distribution business.

Chhabria took over the reins of Jumbo in 2002, following the sudden demise of her husband and founder of the company, Manohar Rajaram Chhabria. In the years that followed, she has run a tight ship, slowly and steadily steering its strong growth. She has scripted the organisation’s multi-brand strategy and directed its foray into the B2B segment.

“As we continue to accelerate our digital transformation efforts, the newly upgraded jumbo.ae is another facet of our focus on utilising technology to make our customer experience even more hassle-free,” Chhabria noted.

Today, under her leadership, the electronics distributor and retailer work with over 60 premium brands such as Sony, Dyson, Weber, Hisense and du, while the enterprise arm has sealed deals with several government and top-tier businesses.

Of the three Ps of business success, the People component has always been Chhabria’s area of interest with the Group employing over 2,500 people. To empower the Group, they have recently launched a cutting-edge AI-powered enterprise learning and upskilling platform, which they christened the ‘Jumbo Edge’.

The Group has also automated a range of key HR processes like recruitment, onboarding and payroll as part of their digital transformation endeavour. Currently, they are also working with a global management consultancy on a remuneration benchmarking exercise to ensure new hires and existing employees are compensated fairly and in keeping with the highest industry standards.

Compassionate yet strong, Chhabria is also an inspiration for generations of women aspiring to make a mark on the corporate world.