Discover
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How DMart Stores have risen from just 2 stores to multiple stores
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What makes Radhakishan Damani the Retail King of India
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Some unknown facts of Radhakishan Damani including the Rs 1000 crore house he bought in 2021
Radhakishan Damani is an Indian entrepreneur, investor and Founder of DMart, a supermarket retail chain. With a passion for trading and investing, Radhakishan is also a renowned name in the world of investment and the share market. After a successful career in trading and investment, he tried his hand at retail business and laid the foundation of DMart in 2002.
With a net worth of 2,070 crores USD (as of May 2024), Radhakishan Damani is currently the 9th (as of May 2024) richest person in India. He is a self-made billionaire and has also been named in the list of Forbes’ Top 100 richest people in the world.
Coming from a humble background, Radhakishan is introverted in nature and keeps himself away from the limelight and controversies of media. He made very few public appearances and is the true embodiment of “Actions speak louder than words”.
Interesting Facts About Radhakishan Damani
- Radhakishan Damani is also popularly known as ‘Mr. White and White’ because he wears a simple white shirt most of the time.
- In 2021, he bought Rs 1000 crore worth of expensive house ‘Madhu Kunj’ in India.
- He also owns a 156-room Radisson Blu Resort in Alibaug.
- Radhakishan Damani was the mentor of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. They were both referred to as ‘Jai-Veeru of Dalal Street’.
The Early Life
Radhakishan was born in 1954 to a Marwari family in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Born in a middle-class family, he was familiar with the nature of business as his father had a ball bearings business. After completing his school education, Radhakishan pursued B.Com from ‘The University of Mumbai’ but left his bachelor’s degree midway through to start his own business in investing.
Radhakishan was in Mumbai when he joined his father’s ball-bearing business and started doing quite well. After the demise of his father, Radhakishan left the ball-bearing business and entered the world of stock broking. With very minimal knowledge of stock broking, Radhakishan joined his brother’s stock broking business in his 20s.
Journey Of Damani’s Stock Market Career
With a speculative observation of the market, Damani masters the art of investment. Damani is the undefeated king of the stock market world. Not many people know that Damani is also a mentor of ‘The Big Bull of India’, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Being a beginner in the broking business, Radhakishan was very clear in his mind that he would start by speculating and observing the stock market and its strategies instead of directly involving in trading the stocks. He began his career as a stockbroker but soon he realised that to make real money in the market, he needed to trade his own money instead of just being a stockbroker.
Understanding the flexibility and different swings of the market worked in favour of Damani. By trading his own money in the stock market, he started to make huge profits. Radhakishan was a very flexible trader and knew exactly when to invest and when to pull out his money from the market.
Damani always values long-term investments. He made huge profits by investing in long-term investment options. However, he also made significant profits by short-selling. Damani popularized the concept of short selling of stocks during the time of the Harshad Mehta Scam, which was not so common back then. He sensed the manipulation played by Harshad Mehta on some stocks and knew that they would eventually fall down. His market insight and the decision to sell the stocks at that time earned him huge profits.
Damani’s farsightedness, prescient vision and instinct made him the most successful trader on Dalal Street. The best-performing stocks from his investment portfolio include Aptech Ltd, Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Ltd, Blue Dart, 3M India and India Cements.
DMart
After gaining huge success in the stock market world, Radhakishan decided to start his own business in the retail industry. And that is when he launched one of the most successful retail stores, DMart.
Launched in 2002, DMart is a supermarket and hypermarket chain in India. Currently, DMart has 366 stores (as of May 2024) all over India spreading across 12 states in India. The states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, NCR, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Rajasthan.
The first store of DMart was established in Powai, Mumbai and focused on grocery items only. Today, DMart offers a wide range of products, including home care and personal products. The various brands of DMart include DMart Premia, Dutch Harbour, DHomes and DMart Minimax.
The industry experience of Damani has helped greatly in the success of DMart. He actively helped DMart grow by using one of his own impressive techniques. Radhakishan Damani did not follow what others were doing. Where most retail chains rent the stores for their operations, DMart runs its operations in its own stores. He never opened a store that is not owned by him. This is also the reason why DMart never closes any stores after opening them.
After announcing the IPO of the Supermarket chain Avenue Supermart in 2017, Radhakishan Damani emerged as ‘India’s Retail King’. The IPO made a record-breaking debut on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Today, DMart captures a 22% share of the retail industry in India. With a strategic mind and farsighted vision of Radhakishan, DMart is one of the most preferred names in supermarket stores in India.
Radhakishan Damani As A Philanthropist
Radhakishan Damani is not just a king of the retail industry but also a king of hearts. Damani always believed in giving back to society in every possible way. Without attracting much of the limelight, he makes remarkable contributions to the betterment of society.
At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Radhakishan donated a generous amount of ₹100 crores to the PM CARES Fund and approximately ₹55 crores to State relief funds. Radhakishan also initiated a charity to help people who are undergoing treatment at a nominal cost in South Mumbai. Shivkishan Mindaram Damani Charitable Trust runs this charity. A trust owned by the Damani family. Being a camera-shy person, Radhakishan often keeps his charity and CSR Projects secret.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DMart full form?
DMart stands for Damani Mart. Damani represents the surname of Mr. Radhakrishnan Damani.
Why is DMart not in Delhi?
DMart has its store in Delhi. It’s at New Rohtak Road, Karol Bagh, Delhi.
Why is DMart so famous?
DMart is quite famous for its effective business model. It provides quality products at very affordable prices.
Who is the owner of DMart family?
Radhakishan Damani is the founder and owner of DMart.
Where is the head office of DMart?
DMart headquarters is located in Mumbai.
