Our history is the foundation thus we celebrate our past and inspire our future. And our story begins in 1929 when late Motibhai Becharbhai Patel set sail from Bombay, India to Fiji at the age of 24. After initially working for a Ba merchant, Motibhai Becharbhai Patel decided to establish his own business. In 1931, he started a small grocery store in Kumkum, Ba and within a short time he had secured a long list of regular customers.
Today 90 years later, it has become a diversified corporate organisation with a wide range of portfolio’s, including Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), hospitality, luxury goods, electronics, manufacturing, real estate, fast food restaurants and print media.
In 1971 the Group made its entry into the Travel Retail business. This later allowed the Group to expand into the iconic Prouds luxury retail business in Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
In 1982, the Group purchased Fiji Foods which diversified the business into becoming one of Fiji’s largest manufacturers and producing quality products such as Sprint soft drink and Golden margarine.
Early 2000 saw the Group partnering with Colonial Life, now Bank of South Pacific, to develop the iconic 13 story Suva Central Building in the heart of Suva further expanding the real estate portfolio of the Motibhai Group.
September 22, 2010, marked another important milestone for Motibhai when the Group acquired The Fiji Times Limited from the global News Corporation Limited making its foray into the media industry and establishing the newspaper organisation as a Fijian-owned Company.
In 2014, the Group became master franchisees of the world-famous Burger King franchise for Fiji marking the Group’s first foray into the Quick Service Restaurant business.
Our success throughout the years didn’t just spontaneously form. It took root in the founding virtues and vision held by the founders. It was shaped by the relationships that the company built with customers, stakeholders, employees, and communities. And it was tested by the failures and tumultuous setbacks, but our company’s founding values stayed true and progressed to create new success and continually honour the trust that customers placed within it.
Throughout each year in business and with each hurdle our company overcame, its culture and enduring legacy grew stronger, culminating into a guiding set of principles and practices that served as the foundation for achievement and strong, ethical relationships.
Originating from a small grocery shop, the company today has become a trustworthy household name in Fiji. Of course, this would not have been possible without the solid foundation laid down by the founders.
Groomed in the founder’s entrepreneurial abilities, today their succeeding generation has successfully steered the Group in several new directions under the tutelage and leadership of Group Chairman & CEO Mr Kirit Patel.
We are a business founded on a sense of purpose, and our unique heritage still shapes the way we do business today. We continue to build on the exemplary vision where we strongly believe that vision is our potential worth and entrepreneurial innovation of our founding fathers with renewed passion and enthusiasm.
Our history will be a humanizing force for our brands and a reason to celebrate our past and inspire our future.
