A retail veteran, Manu started his career in the field almost 40 years ago in Spain. In 1978, after a two-year stint in the country, he moved to Bahrain and shortly after joined the Landmark Group.

Over the next 10 years he worked closely with Mr. Micky Jagtiani and in 1990, with the birth of Shoe Mart, Manu moved to Dubai as Managing Director to set up the first store and took hold of the reins of the concept. There has been no looking back ever since. He has always been actively involved with the overall business development and retail buying for the brand. The ‘Shoe Mart’ brand has undergone tremendous changes and has upgraded its image over the last few years, to cater to the fashion conscious consumers, under the constant guidance and direction of Manu.

In a span of 28 years, his leadership has played a key role in making the Shoe Mart concept one of the largest footwear and leather accessories chains in the MENA region with a store presence of over 175 stores and strong expansion plans.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Manu took on the role to set up the international franchise business portfolio for the footwear division– Shoe Mart International in 2002. Under his Management, the division today franchises over 10 International Brands including – Kurt Geiger, Steve Madden, Carpisa, Aerosoles, ECCO, Pablosky, amongst others.

In 2009, he was instrumental in launching the footwear brand – Shoexpress. In a mere 9 years the brand has become a leading value brand with over 100 stores encompassing over three hundred and fifty thousand sq. ft. of retail space.

A strong believer in ‘Work is Worship’, Manu’s hard work, passion and perseverance is truly inspirational. He has consistently taken- up new challenges and built brands that have conquered their category.

Manu Jeswani is a Board Member at the Landmark Group and heads the Centrepoint & Property Division.