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After 20 years in the US, Bahraini entrepreneur and fragrance guru Nadeem Asghar Ali has returned home to expand the family business and take his ‘made in Bahrain’ brand regional.
Nadeem, 38, is the grandson of the late Hajj Asghar Ali, founder of the popular perfume and retail group Asghar Ali, which over the years has gained a reputation all over the Gulf.
Inspired by his grandfather’s success, and with a little encouragement from his wife, Monica, Nadeem decided to return to Bahrain in 2008 to launch his own collection of scents.
He said: “I told the family I would join the perfume business but I wanted to be a bit more liberal. I wanted my own line and I broke off to start Nadeem Asghar Ali.
“We are two completely separate brands. I decided to focus more towards French and customised scents – be it for corporate, local or individual entities.”
Upon graduating from Bahrain School in 1991, Nadeem moved to the US for further studies. Over the following years, he built a career for himself there with companies such as renowned auditing firm KPMG.
In 2004, he and his wife Monica, a highly-respected artist and businesswoman, opened a French oriented perfume shop in The Ritz Carlton in Washington DC which was a favoured haunt of dignitaries and locals alike.
Monica is no stranger to the smell of success herself, having been vice president for Chanel on the East Coast of the US from Boston to Miami. Her expertise in the fragrance business, combined with the advice passed on to him by his grandfather proved to be the perfect foundation for the brand.
Although the couple focused on French couture perfumes in the US, they realised that the Bahraini market required something a little bit different.
He said: “Once I was back in Bahrain I began to notice that my friends would mix their traditional oriental scents (known as oud) with French perfumes. Our market here is different. People still want to blend their fragrances.
“I thought why not jump on the oud bandwagon and do something new. So I started mixing different combinations which turned out to be really nice.”
In 2008 Nadeem opened his store in the new extension of Seef Mall. His business soared sky- high when it was launched on Bahrain Air and Oman Air as well as in Bahrain Duty Free.
The names of Nadeem’s perfumes are as unique as the scents themselves and are inspired by people he has met over the years.
The perfumes can also be customised for VIPs, corporations, weddings and even for house warmings. Taking a hands-on approach to the process, Nadeem encourages those who order a custom fragrance to be involved with all aspects from the bottle design, the printing, the boxes and the fragrance itself.
The brand has recently launched two new fragrances for the Eid holidays - Nasir for men and Lamees for women - and two for the Christmas season ahead - Nedal (after his three-year-old son) for men and Elisabeth for women.
In a bid to promote Bahraini products regionally, the perfume bottles are each stamped with the slogan – ‘proudly made in the Kingdom of Bahrain’.
Nadeem has a shop opening in Saudi Arabia in two weeks time and his sights are also set on Qatar and the UAE.
