The Choithrams supermarket brand was originally set up in West Africa in 1944 by Thakurdas Choithram Pagarani, but it is the company’s current chairman, LT Pagarani, who is credited with much of its success. The younger Pagarani has been expanding the brand for the past few decades, transforming Choithram & Sons into an international company spanning Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East.
The elder Pagarani opened the first grocery in Sierra Leone, and the first Choithrams store in the UAE was established three decades ago. There are now 25 stores across the emirates as well as others elsewhere in the GCC. In 2010, LT Pagarani announced plans to double the number of shops across the UAE and set up small convenience stores. It opened its latest Dubai location in Mirdif last August and two in Abu Dhabi the previous year.
Meanwhile, he is working on sideline philanthropic ventures. Choithrams has donated millions of dollars to the United Nations World Food Programme. Most recently, it pledged money to fund school meals to 2,100 children in Benin and 7,800 children in Jordan. Aside from retail, the company also has interests in food services, hospitality, garments and household appliances, and logistics and distribution.
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