Meet Yasser Beydoun'89 and Toufic Kreidieh'89

Meet Yasser Beydoun, an IC Alumni, who graduated from IC in 1989 from the high school program. He continued his studies at the “American University of Beirut” and obtained a Bachelors in Business in 1994.

Yasser started his career journey as a Life Insurance Salesman where he worked in that position for a period of 1 year. This experience was of great importance to Yasser as it taught him how to approach people, how to convince people to buy intangible assets and developed both his presentation and sales skills. He later moved to TransMed where he worked in this company for a period of 3 years. He started his journey at TransMed at a low-level position, then with time he became a supervisor, and afterwards got promoted to Unit Manager. This work experience was also of added value in shaping Yasser’s career journey as it taught him the value of money, how tough the life of an employee is, especially that employees don’t enjoy the privilege of “ME” time. In Yasser’s opinion, employees have to sacrifice their social life, their time of leisure, the joy of practicing their hobbies, in order to get the job done. “Life of an employee does not belong to you! My Time is not mine to dictate! Rather my time is owned by the company I work for!”

After 3 years, Yasser became more saturated with business and he felt he needed a change. In 1996, opportunity presented itself and both Yasser and his business partner Toufic Kreidieh grabbed it to follow up on their “idea”. Toufic, also an IC alumnus, graduated from LAU with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in the year 1993. While on a vacation shopping together in the US, both Yasser and Toufic came across a concept store called “Filene's Basement”. It was a huge store that sold many brands for good prices. This concept intrigued their interest, so they grasped the opportunity that presented itself to them. They did proper research to learn more about the business and follow up on the concept idea that presented itself to them. “We started researching where they buy goods from. Learned more about “off prices”? We got some leads, created an idea of what we wanted to do and what to buy, and started our business journey.” 

There was a basement parking close to Yasser’s house about 500 square meters in space. They rented it, transformed it into a cheap retail store, bought a small stock of goods, and tried it out. That's how “Brands For Less was born.” The idea came to them, they grasped the opportunity that presented itself, and worked hard to research it, implement it, cofound it and grow it. So, what is “Brands for Less?” It is a department store with a huge variety of products that sells authentic branded products mainly at very affordable prices giving discounts of 50 to 70 % on these products. They cater to families of all classes, whether to low, middle or affluent levels, where everybody can find something to buy at their store. “We like to think of ourselves as democratizing the business of brands, i.e., giving opportunity to everyone to wear brands, not only to people who have money.” To their advantage, there was no store who sold branded items for off prices in Lebanon. People got intrigued, they all came to their underground basement and bought merchandise. Luckily, it was a hit!

“Teaming up with Toufic was a success to both of us.” Having been friends since they were 14 years old, sharing a lot of common background and a brotherly bond over the years, it was a very natural transition for them to do business together. They relied on one another, and complemented each other especially since they are both so different from one another. While Toufic was an extroverted risk taker with an ambitious ball of fire approach, Yasser was an introverted cautious and calculated wise man in his approach. Their differences created a harmonious balance between the two that added to their success. They decided to go private together because they had both worked with people and understood the limitations for it.

In 2000, Toufic moved to Dubai to test the market there. They opened a store in Deira while Yasser stayed working in Lebanon managing the Lebanon branch, going back and forth to Dubai. They studied the market in Dubai, focused on what people wanted.  Growth was slow between the years 2000-2004, until they found the perfect mix of what UAE people liked. They were very strategic in their approach, were very wise in their expenditures in regards to money, and invested all their profits on their business rather than on themselves. They employed the minimum required number of needful employees to carry the work required, while they did a lot of the work themselves. In 2005, Yasser moved to Dubai, and he is today the Executive Vice Chairman and Cofounder of a very successful business “Brands for Less”. Toufic, on the other hand, is the CEO and Executive Chairman of “Brands for Less.” The company today is spread in all the GCC countries, with 54 branches in UAE, 4 branches in Kuwait, 4 branches in Qatar, 4 branches in Oman, 1 branch in Bahrain and 30 branches in KSA. They closed their branches in Lebanon, however the option of delivery is available.

The road to success was not an easy process. There were many problems along the way. Some examples of these problems were due to the changing rules in Lebanese customs that suddenly tripled and made it hard for Yasser and Toufic to cover expenses and get new items as a new startup. Another problem they faced was with suppliers who would sell them goods not as per their orders and that were of a lesser quality kind of goods. Many more problems arose, all of which were overcome overtime. “When you start a business, small things can break you. But it is important that you persist, and never let issues that happen out of the blues stop you from pursuing your goals.”

IC had a great impact on Yasser and the way his identity is shaped today. IC is the place where he met all his closest friends. It's the school that introduced him to his business partner Toufic. IC is the network that introduced him to many fellow IC Alumnus with whom he conducts business along the lines of his work today. The culture of IC is engraved in him. The fair tolerant institution that accepted all religions especially during the time of war, always accepting differences and creating a culture of unity, confidence and love. “A trait that helped us in life to accept people and differences, a trait we still carry till today.” IC helped Yasser to be open minded, accepting to people as they are. IC’s culture of acceptance also helped Yasser and his business partner Toufic in adapting better with their move to Dubai and in working smoothly with the different

ethnicities in Dubai. In addition, Yasser believes IC nurtures entrepreneurship. “I cannot explain how it does that, but a lot of my friends opened their own business careers and are very successful entrepreneurs today.” Yasser also stresses on the caliber of people IC grows. Avant Garde hard workers that are mostly spread around the world in key positions. Alumni that are tolerant, open minded, polite, well rounded educated human beings that have common grounds with a mentality only IC students share that differentiates them from other schools. To Yasser, IC is a safe haven that graduates students with solid drives that are a product of this institution. IC represents a kind of democracy that encourages students to speak their mind, to be different and special. “The social tightness at IC among students to me is very unique and affected me positively because my childhood friends are still my long lifetime friends till today.”

A message Yasser insisted on sharing with current IC students or fresh graduates is: “It is all about discipline, being hungry and work ethics.” He advises fellow students to respect all the people they meet in their school because they will always be in their future, even if they do not expect it. “The people you meet are all connections and the way you treat those people will always come back to you. These people will pop out in your life now and again and tomorrow.” Yasser advises fellow IC students to carry themselves in life with ethics, seriousness and responsibility as they will be reciprocated in the same manner, they treated others. To Yasser, everything is connected to each other. He emphasizes the importance to study hard in university, follow dreams and ideas with seriousness, and savor connections because everyone you meet in life will be a future network. Yasser concludes by saying that it doesn’t matter whether you end up being an employee or an entrepreneur, as long as you put your heart to it. He stresses if you are serious about your work, doors will open. “What you work defines you as a person.” He emphasizes on the importance of doing the job right, correctly and always striving to become better. “Always compete with yourself before competing with others to become better in the future.”