'I spend very little and earn a lot'

"Who told you I'm a billionaire?" he asks, as we roll into his antiqued office. Er, Forbes. "No, you're right. I am. But I think Forbes got the figure wrong. It was under quoted," he smiles, and just like that you're drawn into the world of Micky Jagtiani.

Eager to answer every question and coy in his response, the retail king slips in a few honest truths without revealing too much.

So if Forbes' $2.5 billion (Dh9.18bn) assessment is wrong, what is your actual net worth? "It's irrelevant really. It's just a number. After some time it has no meaning. I spend very little and earn a lot. That's all," says the owner of retail giant Landmark Group, which operates 750 retail stores across the Middle East, India and China with Centrepoint, Babyshop, Shoe Mart, Splash, Lifestyle and Home Centre among its leading brands. The Group employs 20,000 people and occupies 10 million square feet of retail space. It will open 135 new stores by June this year. Forbes puts him at 462 in the list of the world's richest but delve into his past and it's clear he started from very humble roots.

He dropped out of school at 17, drove mini cabs and cleaned hotel rooms in London for a living, was orphaned at 21 and kicked off his rise to the billions with a $3,000 inheritance and a garment store in Bahrain. "It's been a good life. I've had a few needs and few wants and made my money by not being too greedy," he says.

"When I needed to make money to survive in London, I asked a friend what I could do. He suggested washing dead bodies.

"Driving his friend's mini cab at night was the next best option, so I took it," he tells us of his journey.

A few months later, he joined London's cheapest hotel near Earl's Court as a cleaner. "The hotel was owned by a Khoja (South Asian ethnic). It was a crazy place and the police would come there three times a day for either illegal immigrants, or some other crime. Within six months I became general manager of the hotel because everyone kept leaving."

A little later tragedy struck. Within a year, he lost his older brother to leukemia, father to diabetes and mother to cancer. He was 21. "I couldn't return to Kuwait where my family had settled, so I went to Bahrain instead. I started with $3,000 dollars, made simple decisions along the way and here I am."

In January this year, Landmark Group posted a 24 per cent rise in turnover and profit, year on year. He attributes the growth to their value for money approach to consumers.

"I run my business with a lot of simplicity and that's why I'm successful. I should teach people how to make money because that is what I do best," he says.

What's the mantra? "I follow a simple approach – two plus two makes four.

"Everyone else walks around saying it makes three or five. If you tell them it's four, they say, 'This guy is an idiot. What is he telling us that's new.' But the best solutions are the simplest ones. Don't chase greed and do what is normal. Don't try to outsmart people or systems. Flow with the tide and you will get successful."

One would expect the 57-year-old entrepreneur to hold properties across the globe, yachts for his weekends and a mansion for a home. But he despises property. His house in Emirates Hills shows wife Renuka as its owner. "I don't own property. Two things destroy a country, property and share markets. Once people invest in that they take their eye off the ball regarding their business. They make and lose money out of property and share markets.

"I buy shares only when I want to buy the company, like Debenhams. I'll start buying the share and keep increasing the stake till I have a substantial amount. Then I'll hold it till I'm one of the major share holders and nobody could transact a deal without referring it to me.

"I would have a say in the buying and selling of the company and in managing it. That's the only reason I'd buy shares. I don't believe in the trading of shares."

Jagtiani has always stated he'd buy out Debenhams. It's just a matter of when. When he took his stake up to nine per cent in April 2008, he said he'd consider a take-over when the price was right. At the time, Debenhams was trading at around 60 pence a share. He bought 47 million shares. Today, the department store is trading at 41 pence, and though Jagtiani raised his stake to 11 per cent, he is still waiting for the kill.

"We might buy more of it. We have not taken a decision. We feel the timing is still not right because there will be more declines in the market. We have the money to buy it over today if we want," he says.

And don't mistake this statement for arrogance. He doesn't flinch when he talks money. Neither does he realise the impact of his statements. It's just the facts. He has money because he spends very little.

Recently, Jagtiani flew budget airline Air Arabi to Kuwait. On his return to their Jebel Ali headquarters, he sent out a note recommending the airline to his directors. "I told them I flew Air Arabia, that the flight is good and I recommend it. That's the culture we spread."

But you've got to have executives who think you're an old-fashion scrouge? "Yes, absolutely. They might think I'm a quack traveling this way. But nobody can come and tell me that on my face. If they did, I'd just tell them it's everybody for themselves. When I go to Bombay I ride the taxis. I'm the only one among my friends who does it. They think I'm mad. But I love it."

As he walks us out we ask if he's had any failures. "A lot. But I can't tell you what they were. Nobody likes talking about failures. Not even me."


Jagtiani on malls

We're told it's local custom to meet and discuss every mall opening with 'Micky' in Dubai. Yet, the retail hero owns just one – the Oasis Center which will open on March 25.

Ask him why his mall portfolio features the lone Sheikh Zayed road venture and he responds: "If there's an opportunity we would not turn it down. We don't go out of our way looking for malls. But it's a good experience. It's very wholesome and comprehensive because it has everything you can ever imagine under one roof."

So what would you advise upcoming mall developers?

"A mall must be like a theatre. It must be professionally done. A lot of people think they know everything about mall development, they don't. It's a science and must be treated as a science. It should have a lot of activity and be alive. The problem in Dubai is everyone tries to go upmarket and this is not the climate for upmarket malls. People want value for money. It's why we've been successful. That's why we're still growing, even in this economic scenario."

On examples of good and bad malls in the emirate, Jagtiani shies from analysing the bad.

"How can I comment on the bad malls, when all the owners are my friends? They're well aware of the reality and I wish them well."

Mall of the Emirates is a prime example of a good mall he says.

"They got it right. Ibn Battuta didn't start as a good mall but it's getting there now, because they're scaling up and making the right moves."


Lifestyle CV

Vices

"I have three vices. I must watch a movie every day and it must be inspirational. I have a huge TV the size of my wall which makes for great viewing.

"After that I get a 90-minute massage. If I feel depressed I sing karaoke to myself. I love the country and western numbers and usually sing Engelbert, Tom Jones and Rolling Stones' songs."

Hobbies

"Collecting Buddhas. I own 97 buddhas and it's the only interest I have. That and collecting movies. I have 500 movies in my collection."

Car

"I own just one car, a Mercedes, but I won't tell you which model."

Retirement destination

"I'll either live in the himalayas or in a slum in India, where I can fulfill my dream of being a social worker. I currently sponsor the education of 300,000 slum children a year and want to spend the rest of my life getting India out of poverty."

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