Stories to tell

“These are their stories”

Pran Shree, Ceo of Shree Property Holdings

Short and long term warehousing
solutions
PRAN SHREE, CEO of SHREE PROPERTY HOLDINGS
grew up in a family business and has been involved in it since the age of 14. He said that the most prized highlight of his business life is working with his family.
Shree said, “I not only get to be a husband and dad, but I get to share my professional life with my wife and children. When I wake up in the morning, I get to chase my passion and spend time with my family.” Shree added, “I was supported avidly by my wife, Annisha and together we founded our business Shree Property Holdings.” Shree said that he sought much inspiration from his father, Shree and his mother, Savathree, who were entrepreneurial. He further commented, “Working in a family business has added to our success as we all focus on our strengths and it
enhances the business as a whole.”
The ethos of being a family run business, spills over into the company culture, and as a result the staff members are also treated as family and team players,
explained Shree. He said that during his early years he was exposed to a highly autocratic leadership style and implemented this in his own business. However,
he commented, “Now the younger generation has joined the business, I see how beneficial a democratic leadership style is.” Shree commented further that in order to remain an employee of choice, “It is necessary to adapt to diversity and ransformation by enabling mentorship and sharing my knowledge and experience.” He said, “Today I can proudly say I have a hand-picked team that has the necessary skills, knowledge and personalities to operate my business and complement its culture.”
Growing the business was not easy in its early stages. Shree said, “When I founded my business in 1984, as an Indian businessman, it was difficult as I was not participating in a free market environment. The secret to my success lies simply in the fact that I am highly passionate about what I do and as a result am able to
work hours on end without realising the time.” In recent years, Shree Property Holdings has notched up much success. The company operated the largest
solely owned cold storage facility comprising 23 000 pallet positions from 2002-2012 in the southern hemisphere.
In addition, Pran Park at Dube TradePort has been established. This facility has a total land area of 150 000 square metres, comprising six state of the art manufacturing facilities that produce goods ranging from electronics to health devices.
Shree said, “The company named the Park after me because my name means life, and they felt that I would bring life and momentum to the north coast. I see this
as a sizeable achievement personally because the majority of property investors had their reservations about the Dube TradePort, but I envisioned it to be a success.” He continued, “My personal drive was fuelled by the need for job creation and observing the impact it had on a single employee being able to feed a ousehold.
I think it’s imperative that we become a business and investor friendly country. It is important to enable business to fast track applications and permits in order
to enhance growth and development with specific reference to the construction industry.

The future of success lies in the hands of Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and these government institutions along with private investors attaining the single goal of society enhancement and economic growth. I foresee KZN becoming a larger contributor to the South African GDP and this increase in momentum will be highly
valuable for business owners in this province.” When not working, Shree enjoys cycling and jet skiing. He concluded, “I also enjoy spending quality time with
my wife and children outside of the business. My wife is my best friend and confidant. As a family we enjoy travelling together and of course, my most expensive hobby is my love for sports cars.”