Name Bobby Dudani | Organizations founded CeX | |
Robert Dudani or Bobby (9 August, 1968 - 4 January 2015) was an Anglo-Indian computer retailer. Dudani was a late developer: he was well out of school before he decided to try to make his mark in business. Although he had company directorships dating back to 1992 it was only in 1996 - with the creation of the Computer Exchange (CEX) group, a chain of second-hand computer stores - that his success story began.
CEX Limited and CEX Games had a combined turnover of more than £9m and in the 12 months to June 1998, had an operating profit just shy of £400,000 - an increase of almost 800 per cent on the previous year. Dudani held the vast bulk of the shares.
He used to run a second-hand computer games shop in London's Tottenham Court Road. There are now ten CEX stores in the London area selling second-hand computer software and hardware. The turning point for the business - started on the strength of a £3,000 loan from Dudani's grandparents - which came in 1997 when he developed software for testing second-hand hardware to ensure it was fit for resale.
Dudani, who was educated at the private Kensington Court school and the American-affiliated Richmond College, both in London, flunked his business degree, but at 25, business acumen took hold. By the time he was 27, he had renamed his shop with the memorable acronym CEX. He put all profits back into the company - a frugality he ascribed to his wealthy background.
Dudani attended Thomas's Kensington and Richmond College - The American College in London .
He co-founded CeX. He appeared on the British TV show Secret Millionaire.