| 01 Sep 2010 |
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Lulu Exchange plans expansion in Gulf
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DUBAI -- Lulu International Exchange, which completes its first year of operations on Wednesday, plans to grab market share by opening a significant number of branches in the UAE and other Gulf countries, its chairman Yusuffali M.A. said.
The exchange company that has four branches two each in Abu Dhabi and Dubai recorded over Dh1.3 billion transactions during the first year, Yusuffali told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview on the eve of the first anniversary of the exchange.
"We intend to be present in almost all our Lulu HypermarketsLulu Hypermarkets
throughout the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries and elsewhere while exploring new locations outside our retail premises," said Yusuffali M.A, who is also chairman of EMKE GroupEMKE Group -- one of the largest retail chain in the Middle East.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the four-decade old group operates 83 retail chain stores that include Lulu chain of supermarkets, department stores and hypermarkets. In India it is building one of the country's biggest shopping malls in the southern city of Kochi.
Yusuffali said the company is looking for a steady and systematic growth while totally complying with the UAE Central Bank guidelines and international standards.
"We have invested heavily in ... IT system and infrastructures facilities which will help us in accelerating our expansion in coming months," he said, adding: "Our primary focus has been on beefing up our key drivers - people, process & technology and with a team of industry veterans as well as young dynamic professionals we are all set to take our leap onto next level."
Lulu International Exchange chief executive Adeeb Ahmed said, "In our first year of operations itself we have established tie-ups with a host of reputed banks in different countries while on the home front we have signed up more than 400 corporates for providing the wage and salary administration solutions (Sal4U)."
The exchange provides bill payments, salary disbursements apart from regular services like money exchange & remittance facilities.
"As we have seamless integration with many leading banks our customers get instant credit into their accounts. This we think is a very big facility for many of our valued customers," Ahmed said.
The exchange became a Wage Protection System certified company in November 2009 offering wage and salary administration solutions to many leading groups. The exchange is working to expand its service and network worldwide.
It has also set up liaison offices, remote draft printing centers in Bangladesh and India and actively working on acquiring a money transfer company in Philippines to improve and smoothen its operations.
In next three years, plans are in place to consolidate its operations pan GCC, and India expand across continents, with a presence in Far East viz. Malaysia, Hong Kong and Philippines, Europe & Australia.
"There may be a lot of players in this sector, we have a very clear understanding of our operational growth," Ahmed said, adding: "Though we are a new player in this sector, our parent brand 'Lulu' enjoys unparalleled brand loyalty in this region."
© Khaleej Times 2010
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