Founded in 1980 by husband and wife duo Pran and Annisha Shree, Shree Property Holdings is a family owned and operated business. The family owned business was born out of a retail butchery and evolved into a distributor of local and imported meat products in the region, however in 1999 the family recognised an opportunity in the market and diversified into the cold storage of citrus products.
The citrus division of the business was successfully able to secure the two largest clients in the industry - Dole SA and Capespan - and these relationships catapulted the company into the spotlight. That being said the cyclical nature of the citrus season meant that for six months of the year, the company’s warehouses were vacant, which steered it towards the option of letting its facilities to short-term clientele.
“The clientele we attracted included large food and beverage brands like Tiger Brands and Brandhouse as well as bulk storage of sugar and grain products with the likes of Tongaat Hullet Sugar. This was possible because our citrus facilities were designed to store food graded products under the EU, EuroGAP and PPECB, HACCP and ISO 22000 approved standards. This in essence fueled our passion and drove us directly into the property development space. We purchased buildings, demolished and custom built them to food graded warehouse standards,” explains Pavan Shree, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Shree Property Holdings.
In 2007, the company was officially established as a property development company and today, has an extensive property portfolio in Durban comprising of 56 properties. Shree Property Holdings industrial portfolio extends across Durban and the company is currently headquartered at Dube TradePort, in the vicinity of King Shaka International Airport. The majority of its industrial properties are densely concentrated alongside the Durban Harbour and the newly proposed Dig out Port.
Since becoming a property development company, Shree Property Holdings has diversified its client portfolio to include blue chip companies, automotive manufacturers and logistics providers as well as food and beverage clients. This vibrant tenant profile includes the likes of Unilever, Volvo, Samsung, DHL, Tongaat Hulets Sugar and Katoe Natie just to list a few.
Providing world-class storage solutions
Shree Property Holdings has a reputation in the region for developing and maintaining AAA grade, new generation warehouses. The company prides itself in providing its clients with complete turnkey storage and logistics solutions, including customisation of facilities for individual tenants. Shree Property Holdings has undergone intensive research and development studies in order to develop spaces built for maximum storage flexibility and efficiency – for example, each layout incorporates open span design and ideal flow within the warehouse to enable maximum usage of the floor area, which in turn assists and creates greater efficiencies in the operation of their client’s business.
Furthermore, the company has its own bespoke in-house construction division – Shreeprop – which helps ensure that all new developments are built to plan in a cost effective and timeous manner, further guaranteeing that the quality of materials and workmanship is at its finest. It is this factor that enhances the reputation and the ability for Shree Property Holdings to build AAA grade warehouses quicker than most.
Continuous improvement
Quality and meticulous planning sets Shree Property Holdings aside from the competition and this underpinned by a culture of continuous improvement. “We are constantly striving for excellence in terms of methodology, technique and efficiency,” says Pran Shree, CEO and Co-Founder. “We work hard to create productive environments for our tenants using the latest technology.”
Shree Property Holdings is a firm believer in technology, as well as deriving benefits from adopting the first user advantages of it, therefore strategically continuing to invest in such to ensure its systems are up to date. “In the citrus business we have been using a wireless, handheld based warehouse management system that has enabled us to load the correct pallet out and at the right time based on all the different variables like FIFO, Count, Grade and Target Market. This system has had many revisions over the years and has also been replaced and reengineered a few times as our business grew,” says Mayur Shree.
“On the property side we are constantly reengineering our intranet and Microsoft SharePoint Services as connectivity and different platforms evolve. This ensures that all our staff members are constantly connected and informed on the different sites and scope of work that we are busy with. We employ Microsoft Project Professional and Autodesk’s Building Design Suite which has increased our turnaround times and improved our accuracy in all projects from planning to completion,” he continues.
The company has also developed its own Shreeprop app, which allows tenants to log enquires instantly with the property management team and expect responses immediately in real time.
Corporate social responsibility
Technology is not the only driving force behind Shree Property Holdings as an organisation. It is also dedicated to implementing world-class CRS initiatives. “Corporate social responsibility is very important to our company and resonate directly with our core values,” explains Sanam Shree, Chief Strategy and Investment Officer. “The company has always supported various charitable organisations, and has a large involvement with Soroptimist International, Durban Club because of the affiliation of our CFO, Annisha, who was the club’s Immediate Past President. Shree Property Holdings and Soroptimist International, Durban Club have formed a partnership in The ‘Adventure into Adulthood’ project and it was this integration that brought about ‘The Shree Future Foundation.’
“The origin of the Shree Future Foundation relays back to Shree Property Holdings core values of empowerment, innovation and creating a sustainable and better future for our children of tomorrow and the less fortunate.
The organisation wishes to educate a university student by providing the potential candidate with the opportunity and funding to study and educate her/himself further. One hundred Grade 11 students from disadvantaged backgrounds undergo stringent written and oral tests in order to qualify for the grant. The successful student will then be awarded a bursary to study at a tertiary institution. Voluntary educators will provide arms of support and mentorship from both the Soroptimist Club and the Shree Family.”
The company aims to grow this foundation to a larger scale over the next few years and truly values corporate social responsibility and believes in giving back to the communities in which it operates.
Family values rule the day
The company isn’t only dedicated to helping those external of the company. Being a family run business, Shree Property Holdings views its staff compliment as being part of their greater family, whilst firmly adopting the ethos of a corporate structure. It is also important to note that it is passion and dedication that largely fuels the business. All five family members oversee different arenas of the business and work largely to complement each other with their talents and skills. This display of their complimentary skills will be well executed in the roll out of Shree Property Holdings Africa. Whereby Shree Property Holdings is internationalizing the business and increasing its African footprint in the SADC regions. The first step in the Company’s global movement will be via Mauritius. This has also been an easy process due to the fact that their Blue Chip tenants are requesting space in these SADC countries.
“We put our family name to our brand,” says Pran Shree. “A constant goal that we strive to achieve is to add value to our clients and their business. Being a young player in the property market, it is worthy to note that for the Shree Family this is just the beginning,” he concludes.