Umar and Adam Kamani are two British-Indian billionaires and businessmen. The brothers co-founded the women’s clothing brand PrettyLittleThing. The label is now part of Boohoo, their father Mahmud Kamani’s multi-billion dollar fashion company.
The Kamanis are the third generation in their family to find success in the fashion industry. Their grandfather started out selling handbags as a market vendor after immigrating to the UK.
Well-known celebrities have flaunted the PrettyLittleThing brand, including Miley Cyrus, Little Mix, and Nicki Minaj.
Umar and Adam Kamani founded PrettyLittleThing
The Kamani brothers founded PrettyLittleThing in 2012. Umar Kamani works as Managing Director and CEO of the company. He co-founded the brand two years after earning his B.A. in International Business from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Beginning in 2006, Adam worked for his father at Boohoo before launching PrettyLittleThing. He remained a director at PrettyLittleThing until 2017. Now, Adam is Chief Executive Officer of the real estate tech startup MoveStreets. The business designed a dating-inspired app, where buyers can swipe right or left on potential properties.
“It all started when I lived in New York,” the entrepreneur told Property Week. “I went over to help the fashion businesses and ended up investing in property. Then I came back to the UK, where I was presented with the opportunity to work in the property business.”
Adam is also Chief Executive Officer of the real estate company Kamani Property Group. He also has experiences with the venture capital and private equity firm KM Capital and Nasty Gal Inc.
Adam and Umar Kamani: a fashion-forward family
The Kamani family originates from Gujarat, India. Adam and Umar Kamani’s father Mahmud was born in Kenya, where the family relocated. The brothers’ grandfather Abdullah fled Kenya in the 1960s with his family.
Settling in Manchester, UK, Abdullah started selling handbags as a market vendor. There, he grew Pinstripe, a wholesale textile business. Abdullah used his family connections in India to source garments to be sold to fast fashion brands such as Primark.
The Kamani brothers’ father Mahmud worked for Pinstripe, transporting goods in a van. Mahmud teamed up with Pinstripe’s design team leader Carol Kane to launch the online retailer Boohoo in 2006.
Adam and Umar are two of Mahmud’s three sons. Their younger brother, Samir, heads Boohoo’s menswear label BoohooMan. Both Adam and Umar attended the private school Cheadle Hulme and Wilmslow High School.
Adam Kamani is married to Instagram celebrity and influencer Charlotte Mchale.
PrettyLittleThing is designed for Young Women
PrettyLittleThing started with accessories only, and a limited number of products. Now the label sells apparel, cosmetics, accessories, and footwear aimed at women ages 16-24. The label has launched collections with celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and Little Mix.
“We’ve come from…social media growth, influencer growth, YouTube, bloggers, vloggers,” Umar told Retail Gazette. “There are lots of influencers being born every day. These influencers are replacing the traditional PR and marketing. It’s been a huge part of us.”
The Manchester-based company is now international, with markets in the United States, Ireland, Australia, France, Canada, and the Middle East.
Pretty Little Thing was the fastest growing online fashion retailer in 2018. In 2017, Boohoo bought a 66% stake in the company. Boohoo acquired the rest of the brand later that year for $336 million.
“We’re a young business, we pride ourselves on our youth, our youthful management, our youthful leadership from start to end,” Umar said. “We kind of encourage it here and we embrace it here. We embrace energy and we think the future is in the young people.”
Shop PrettyLittleThing here.
