BMMI

BMMI

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Type	Public (BSE)
Industry	Retailing, Distribution (business), Logistics
Founded	Bahrain (1883)
Headquarters	Sitra, Bahrain
Key people	Gordon Boyle (CEO)
Number of employees	2000 (2010)
Website	Official website

Based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and with international operations, BMMI is a diversified retail and distribution and contract services and supply group. The Group specialises in the wholesale, distribution and retail of food and beverages and represents global household name brands. BMMI is an international provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions, integrated facility management, logistics and procurement services to governments and to non-governmental, commercial and military organisations. BMMI manages its activities through branches, associates and joint ventures in Kingdom of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Djibouti, Mali, Ghana, Gabon, Republic of Sudan, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Kenya. BMMI is an independent public company and is listed on the (BSE).

History

In 1883 Gray Paul, a British-owned merchant company operating in the Persian Gulf, established a local branch in Bahrain. Following a merger in 1936, the company was renamed Gray Mackenzie, and in 1955 it became part of the Inchcape Group.

In 1980, the Group formed a joint venture with Bahraini shareholders to form Bahrain Maritime & Mercantile International (BMMI). The new company was later listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. When Inchcape divested its shareholding in 1999, BMMI became a wholly Bahraini-owned public shareholding company. In 2003, the Group widened its shareholding base to investors across the GCC. In 2010 the company legally changed its name from Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International to just the acronym BMMI.

Core business areas

Beverages

BMMI Shops specialises in the distribution, wholesale, and retail of beverages in Kingdom of Bahrain. BMMI Shops currently operates a retail outlet in Mina Salman. A website www.bmmishops.com was launched for home deliveries.

In 2009, the group purchased the MacAndrew’s brand of Scotch whisky. MacAndrew’s is currently distributed in Bahrain, the UAE and Oman.

Supermarkets

BMMI owns and operates Alosra supermarket. The Group currently operates six Alosra supermarkets in Bahrain, located at Amwaj Islands, Durrat Al Bahrain, Juffair, Riffa and Saar. In 2015, Alosra expanded internationally with a new supermarket in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Alosra is the first supermarket in Bahrain to implement an Integrated Management System (IMS) and has been awarded with international certification in quality, health and safety, food safety and the environment.

The Group launched an online shopping portal, alosraonline.com.

Convenience meals & cafés

In 2009, BMMI established the Great Deli Co., a BMMI subsidiary which produces ready-to-eat meals including salads, sandwiches, wraps and sushi rolls.

In 2015, BMMI established Delilah’s, a café which operates an outlet in Amwaj Islands and Saar.

Contract Services and Supply

Global Sourcing & Supply (GSS) is the integrated facilities management subsidiary of BMMI, providing contracted services including: Remote site and facilities management, Provision of camps and temporary structures, Rations supply, Technical sourcing and supply & Contract logistics.

GSS caters to NGOs, Mining, Infrastructure, and Oil & Gas, providing temporary structures, facility management, and food & hospitality services in the onshore and offshore sectors. GSS currently operates in Bahrain, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Qatar, Sudan, South Sudan and Washington DC.

Contract Services

BMMI provides contract based services (warehousing, distribution and shipping) and sourcing and supply options to Government, Defence, and Energy sectors within the Middle East and Africa. BMMI runs warehousing services, located in the Kingdom of Bahrain State of Qatar and Republic of Djibouti.

Grocery Distribution

BMMI specialises in the distribution, wholesale and retail of food and household goods. The Group represents brands in confectionery, packaged and canned food, toiletries, fragrances, cosmetics, tobacco and other domestic products. BMMI represents agencies and household name brands in Bahrain.

Restaurants

In 2013, BMMI expanded into the hospitality sector and established two new restaurants in Adliya, Bahrain. The first establishment, La Vinoteca Barcelona, is a Mediterranean restaurant. The second establishment, Café Amsterdam, BMMI’s own brand, is a modern European restaurant.

Joint Ventures and Subsidiaries

B&B Logistics

B&B Logistics is a joint venture between BMMI and BANZ, a Bahrain-based trading, supply chain and warehousing services group. The company specialises in the construction and operation of temperature-controlled warehousing facilities for clients across the MENA region.

Inchcape Shipping Services Bahrain

Inchcape Shipping Services Bahrain (ISS Bahrain) is a joint venture between BMMI and Inchcape Shipping Services, a marine services provider.

ISS Bahrain provides port agency, vessel husbandry, container liner, freight-forwarding, marine survey, and project support services in the Kingdom.

ZAD Marketing and Distribution

In 2003, BMMI acquired a 50 per cent stake and day-to-day management control of ZAD Marketing and Distribution, a food and household goods wholesaler and distributor in the State of Qatar.

UQLC

In 2013, BMMI entered into a joint venture with Gulftainer Group, a UAE based company, for the provision of warehousing, camp design, office management and facility management solutions in Umm Qasr, Iraq. The joint venture with Gulftainer operates in the Umm Qasr Port where BMMI manages different facilities accommodating employees and visitors working in the port.

Social responsibility

Through the Think Local initiative, the Group supports and empowers local farmers to provide Alosra customers with fresh, nutritious and quality produce.

The Group has also been a longtime supporter of the Regional Institute of Active Learning (RIA) and the Alia Centre for Early Intervention. BMMI has additionally always been a generous supporter of other local educational institutes and is continually working on training the local workforce.

Initiated in 2003, the Alosra University Scholarship scheme covers tuition fees for a four-year course at the University of Bahrain for students from low-income families. It has also set up the Alosra Charitable Foundation, the proceeds from which will go towards helping the disadvantaged in the community.

In 2015 BMMI launched a new CSR policy, ‘Nourshing Life’ that focuses on ‘Zero Waste’, ‘Truth’ and ‘Well-being’. Shortly after, BMMI won the Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship Sustainable Award.

External links

• Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International BSC