When Convenience Store first reported on the remarkable story of a 22-year-old becoming the managing director of five supermarkets in the North of England, little did we know that the retailer in question was a former boxer.
And were it not for a particularly nasty injury, Hamza Hussain might well still be in the ring today.
But boxing’s loss is retail’s gain, and the former fighter spoke to us exclusively about his plans in his new position and wider plans for the group he now heads - proving he is very much still in the fight.
“I only found out I’d got the role a few weeks ago. The board gave me the opportunity after all my hard work here. I’ve been dedicated to the business for about two or three years now,” Hamza explains.
Having worked in many areas of the store in his time there, the young retailer believes he learnt the ropes in the best possible way. “I was amateur boxing and I was doing quite well, but then I broke my collarbone on a bouncy castle at a party. My brother pushed me and I fell straight off.
“I just dedicated myself to the supermarket and from there I just built myself up.”
“After that, I joined Abu Bakr Supermarket. I was a very confident child and was very knowledgeable and had great customer service skills, so I just dedicated myself to the supermarket and from there I just built myself up.”
Working his way up meant Hamza could observe the way the chain worked across 360 degrees, he says. “I mastered every department. I watched all the stock come in and out, the buying, I saw the product ranges, management - that’s how I built my way up.”
Now in his position as the new managing director, Hamza says his dedication is what gives him the edge. “I’ve learned so many skills - not many people can deal with both customers and suppliers, or how to deal with wholesalers. Doing that, you need a lot of knowledge and you have to just go out and speak to people.”
Currently the chain has five stores, of varying sizes, many with instore restaurants and halal butchers. For 2026, Hamza says store expansion is a key goal for the business. “We’ve got five branches - four in Leeds and one in Batley.
”We’ve got a food to go counter where we sell fresh mixed grill, fresh curries, fresh naans, pakoras, onion bhajis and Indian sweets.
“But the main focus right now is to expand. We hope to open four or five more branches by the end of the year, and I totally think this will happen.
“We’ve looked at sites in Slough, Leicester, Birmingham and Manchester. With Manchester, I personally think it’s a great location because Manchester is really coming up right now,” Hamza adds.
The young retailer genuinely believes Abu Bakr offers something other stores don’t. “When people walk in they can get different varieties from all around the world - Chinese, Arabic, Asian - you’ve got everything there. We’ve got a lot of things that make us different.”
Looking forwards, another plan is to continue to grow the group’s charity work. “We’ll soon be partnering with the Forget Me Not charity. We want to help a lot of charities, and that’s another one of our areas of focus at the moment.”
Hamza says he’s also well aware of the challenges in the sector at the moment – but in true boxer spirit, he says he isn’t phased. “There are obviously still challenges for us, but we’re not afraid of any of them. If there isn’t a u-turn on business rates we’ll jus deal with it as and when it happens.”
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