10 November 2013
JEDDAH - Retailing giant Lulu Hypermarkets will build 15 new stores in Saudi Arabia in the next two years, as part of its expansion plans, said Yusuffali M.A., founder of EMKE Group, which owns the hypermarket chain.
In an interview with Arabian Business, he said the move is part of the 44 new Lulu Hypermarkets to be built in the GCC countries in the next two years.
Seven new hypermarkets will rise in the UAE in 2014-15, six in Oman, four each in Qatar and Kuwait, three each in Bahrain and Egypt.
Moreover, new markets were also being pursued in Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Libya.
"After this Arab Spring all these countries now they're now liberalizing the foreign investment law and people need organized retail instead of traditional," Yusuffali said.
The company had also expanded into other areas, including 65 Lulu International Exchange branches in India, the Far East and Africa and another 40 planned in the next three years in the MENA, India and Philippines.
It had diversified into shopping malls and real estate projects, opening 12 malls in five years with plans for seven more, as well as mixed-use projects in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India. "Our main business is hypermarkets, not shopping malls," Yusuffali said. "But, why we are going in shopping malls is the shopping malls will complement hypermarkets and the hypermarkets will complement the shopping malls. This is our model."
"I will stick only in the core business, because I'm not a person for experiment. Diversification, from the company's point of view, will always be in related sector. Hypermarkets, malls, hospitality, money exchange, food service, entertainment centers, et cetera, will be our focus area."
JEDDAH - Retailing giant Lulu Hypermarkets will build 15 new stores in Saudi Arabia in the next two years, as part of its expansion plans, said Yusuffali M.A., founder of EMKE Group, which owns the hypermarket chain.
In an interview with Arabian Business, he said the move is part of the 44 new Lulu Hypermarkets to be built in the GCC countries in the next two years.
Seven new hypermarkets will rise in the UAE in 2014-15, six in Oman, four each in Qatar and Kuwait, three each in Bahrain and Egypt.
Moreover, new markets were also being pursued in Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Libya.
"After this Arab Spring all these countries now they're now liberalizing the foreign investment law and people need organized retail instead of traditional," Yusuffali said.
The company had also expanded into other areas, including 65 Lulu International Exchange branches in India, the Far East and Africa and another 40 planned in the next three years in the MENA, India and Philippines.
It had diversified into shopping malls and real estate projects, opening 12 malls in five years with plans for seven more, as well as mixed-use projects in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India. "Our main business is hypermarkets, not shopping malls," Yusuffali said. "But, why we are going in shopping malls is the shopping malls will complement hypermarkets and the hypermarkets will complement the shopping malls. This is our model."
"I will stick only in the core business, because I'm not a person for experiment. Diversification, from the company's point of view, will always be in related sector. Hypermarkets, malls, hospitality, money exchange, food service, entertainment centers, et cetera, will be our focus area."
© The Saudi Gazette 2013
