By Umer Nangiana

 

 

Name: Ali Mahmood

Nationality: Iran

Shop location: Rosary and beads shop, main street, Souq Waqif

 

What do you sell?

I have beads and rosary including plastic ones that are from Turkey. I have stones of different kinds and quality ranging from cheap to expensive. The most expensive one is Amber. The price for amber is 60 riyals for one gram, which is around more than QR1,000 for one bead. Another quality is Powder Amber and its price ranges from QR500 to 1500 per bead.

 

Who are your customers?

Arabs mostly purchase Amber and the Powder Amber. Buyers for the very special rosary are from Gulf and then from Iraq and Syria. The Europeans and the American like Ivory a lot. The people from India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries mostly buy Powder Amber and the Black Coral. People from China also like Amber a lot.

 

How is business?

The business is not that good in summer but it gets really good in winters. The business seasons starts from November and it reaches peak in December.

This business has been in our family for generations. My grandfather left it to my father and from him I have inherited it. I have been in this shop for three to four years now.

 

What is your shop’s specialty? 

The most special thing that we have here is Amber. And another item that I have is Ivory. It is one gram for 25 riyal. It is a little cheaper than amber.

 

How do you set your shop apart from others?

I have rosary for both men and women. Similarly, I have silver and stones also for both men and women. Other shops might have accessories only for ladies specifically or they may be selling old designs. My goods here, as you can see, are very different from that of others.

 

What problems do you face running this shop?

No, in Souq Waqif we do not have any problems. The only thing is that here the business is with seasons. In winters, because the climate is good, customers come here for shopping and go for dining or smoke shisha. They do not go to malls.

But in summers when it is hot, they prefer going to malls and other air-conditioned places than coming here to Souq, so our business gets affected.

 

What kind of customers do you find irritating?

The kind of customers who do not know what they want. They don’t know the quality of the silver or the rosary or stones. They even are not sure if they really want to buy anything in the first place. They make me crazy.

 

Tell us your favourite anecdote related to a customer.

No, I do not remember any but in general I have found Qatari customers really good to deal with.

 

What is the best thing about Souq Waqif?

I like Souq Waqif a lot for its architecture and its traditional design. Old Qatar was like this. I like it this way because it gives you the feeling of being in traditional Qatar.

 

Where do you source your goods from?

Amber comes from Europe, Russia and Poland. Ivory I get from Africa. Black Coral comes from Egypt. We have many stones like Zamurud and Yaqut that we get from Sri Lanka, Iran and other countries. The plastic ones I get from Turkey.

If it wasn’t for this job, what would you have been doing?

It is a difficult question. I have never really thought about it. However, I like the job of aeronautical engineers.

 

HAPPY: Ali Mahmood in his shop.