Textile King dies

According to a statement from the family, Aboud was recently admitted to the hospital, “for an emergency valve replacement procedure that was specific to his condition and available in only a few centres in the United States.”

“He survived the surgery,” the release added, but complications arose, “with varying issues related to his advanced age (and) he finally succumbed peacefully with his family around him this morning (September 15).”

From his humble beginnings, “in a single doorway rental shop” on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain in September 1949, which he opened with a $50 overdraft from Barclays Bank, Aboud went on to earn the title of “Textile King”, for which his flagship store on the southeast corner of Queen and Charlotte streets was eventually named.

Aboud would see his overdraft limit significantly increased to a handsome $500 after he became one of the first customers of the Bank of Nova Scotia, now Scotiabank, when it opened its doors in TT back in 1954.

The statement, crafted in part by son Gregory Aboud, who is also president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), noted that Scotiabank decided to give Aboud a $500 overdraft, “after they visited his shop and liked his ambition and enthusiasm.”

Contacted by Newsday yesterday, Scotiabank officials expressed “deep sadness” on learning of Aboud’s passing. The bank noted that in the 60 years since he became a client, “Jimmy Aboud remained a loyal customer and an advocate of Scotiabank.”

Aboud would go on to open “The Textile Corner” on the northeast corner of Queen and Henry streets in Port-of-Spain, among other businesses. Reflecting on their boss’ achievements over the past 65 years, staff at several of Aboud’s stores yesterday said he learnt from the example of “successful merchants of the day”, eventually deciding that his path to success had to have the following ingredients:

Emulating successful people; working harder than the competitor; making sure every transaction benefitted both buyer and seller; always taking personal responsibility for failures and attributing success of others to their performance, being superior to his.

Sheryl Maraj, an employee in the Curtains Department of Jimmy Aboud The Textile King, smiled as she spoke with Newsday about her late boss’ sense of humour. “He loved to give you ‘picong’ to brighten your day. When he was ill, he seemed to shake off what was ailing him the moment he walked through these doors.

“This was his empire, the place where he gained his strength. Mr Aboud was on the shop floor up to two weeks ago, when he flew out for his surgery. He told us to hold down the fort for him. It’s such a shock to hear he’s gone,” Maraj said.

Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communication Vasant Bharath, said the capital’s “commercial landscape and indeed, that of TT, has lost a true institution with the passing of Jimmy Aboud.”

Reflecting on the life of a man who became an inspiring success story after settling here in the early 1900s, Bharath said, “The reach of his company spread even beyond the Caribbean into the Americas. Over the years, he developed an almost fatherly influence among new and old PoS businesses. His loss will be felt across our country and on behalf of the Prime Minister and Government, we send our deepest condolences and sincerest prayers to members of his family. May his soul rest in peace.”

Jimmy Aboud leaves to mourn his wife, four sons, a daughter and an extended family which loved him and will miss him dearly. Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.