Nilesh Ved, a renowned name in the retail fashion industry, is the Chairman and Founder of the Apparel Group. Since his early days, Mr. Ved was highly influenced by the North American retail environment & fashion labels available in the international market. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Science Business Administration and having grown up in a family of successful entrepreneurs and businessmen, starting his own business just seemed right. He had a dream of bringing in trendy fashion brands of the West to the Middle East, which seemed to be a promising market for retail. It was from there on; he envisioned Apparel Group and aimed to provide the Middle Eastern customers a global fashion retail experience.

Under the patriarch of Mr. Nilesh Ved, Apparel Group initiated its successful journey in 1999 by launching its first 3 stores of Ninewest, with its first exclusive store in Lamcy Plaza. The success brought by the launch of a few stores allowed a clear understanding of the retail market apparent in the Gulf, thus allowing him to concentrate on its business strategy of further introducing new labels and expanding its reach to the consumer.

Building a firm ground-work with the first three stores and developing the right people, processes and tools, Nilesh consummated the next phase by absorbing many other international brands like ALDO, Charles & Keith, Nine West, Tommy Hilfiger, Juicy Couture, Tim Hortons etc whilst launching stores in every key location across the GCC. What began as a single store in Dubai is now a global presence across markets of UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, Jordan, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Additionally, clear strategies are in place to enter markets such as Iraq, Egypt and the broader African continent to achieve the company’s vision of opening 2000 stores by 2020.

The group caters to thousands of eager shoppers through its 1750+ stores, employing over 14,000 multi-cultural staff in over 4 continents. Nilesh believes in cultivating a global style aesthetic with a touch of local colour; this strategy has taken the group to different parts of the world. He encourages associates to realize their potential and enjoy their work while effectively rewarding their performance and contribution.

Today, Nilesh leads the ever expanding Apparel Group to position itself as one of the top global retailers. Apparel Group’s achievements in the last decade and more have been duly recognized by the leaders in the region. The Group has won the coveted Great Place to Work Award, the International Business Excellence Award, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award, Dubai Quality Appreciation Award, Images RetailME Award and many more.

Personally, Nilesh has been one of the top 100 Indians in GCC’s ‘Power List’ in 2010 and has also been awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at IIFA, Mumbai, the Young Business Achievers Award from Masala, the Entrepreneur of the Year at the Indian Innovators Award 2017, the Retail CEO Middle East of the Year at Arabian Business Awards 2017 to name a few.

Nilesh is known for his pace of work and high leadership skills with which he drives everyone towards organizational goals. He considers his employees at Apparel as his most valuable asset and believes in turning their dreams into reality by contributing to changing their lives with better standards of living & healthcare. Nilesh’s mantra to success is his passion, hard work, honesty and consistency. His passion for work is paramount that it leaves very less to be desired outside of the business realm.