Abu Dhabi, Jul 24th, 2011 (WAM) -- Capitalising on the 'neighborhood store' concept recently unveiled by the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Lulu Hypermarket Group will create half as many neighbourhood stores in the GCC within the next three years.
This will add to the 100 super- and hypermarkets it will have in the network, said Yousufali Mussaliam Managing Director of the Lulu Group. Three new LuLu Express outlets were opened last week, including two in Dubai and one in Fujairah. Others are already operational in Abu Dhabi and in Qatar. "It's very much along the lines of probability that we will need to create between 40 and 50 outlets in the GCC between now and 2015. To me, it's doable." Investments, based on industry benchmarks, could be in the region of Dh5-Dh10 million", said Yusufali. The neighbourhood store concept, hitherto dominated by the small grocery operator, is the new battleground for the big supermarket chains. Getting locational advantage holds the key to making a mark in this category and the earlier an operator does so, the better off he is for it.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2011.
