Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — In a colorful grand ceremony attended by hundreds of Saudi dignitaries, officials, and community and business leaders, the 125th hypermarket of LuLu Group and 153rd outlet of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, were opened in Jeddah on Sunday. Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz and Mazen Mohammed Batterjee, vice chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, jointly inaugurated the hypermarket, the 7th in the Kingdom, in the presence of Yusuffali MA, chairman of LuLu Group, at the Event Mall in Amir Fawaz district, located near the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. [caption id="attachment_59075" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz and Yusuffali MA, chairman of LuLu Group, cut the ribbon to open the 153th outlet of Malabar Gold & Diamonds in Jeddah on Sunday. Shamlal Ahamed MP, managing director, International Operations of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, and other dignitaries were present. — Courtesy photo[/caption] Prince Saud Bin Abdullah and Yusuffali MA opened Malabar Gold's second brand showroom in Jeddah and the 10th in the Kingdom in the presence of Shamlal Ahamed MP, managing director, International Operations of Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Speaking to media after the launching ceremony, Yusuffali expressed happiness over realizing the dream of opening its 125th outlet in Jeddah, the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques. He also unveiled the ambitious plans of his Abu Dhabi based retail giant to further expand its operations in the hugely potential Saudi market with opening a dozen more hypermarkets by the year 2018. "We plan to launch 4 more hypermarkets this year, including one more in Briman in Jeddah and one each in Hail and Hofuf. By 2018, we will launch 8 more hypermarkets in the Kingdom including the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah." Revealing his investment plans, Yusuffali said: "We have already invested SR 1 billion and intend to further invest SR 800 million in the next two years, taking our total investment to more than SAR 1.8 billion in the Kingdom. We are very confident that this great country will further prosper under the visionary leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. I am really excited by the new Vision 2030 declared recently by the Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and will explore all avenues to further boost our group's investment here." Yusuffali said his group will contribute significantly in augmenting the Kingdom's fast growth as envisaged in the Vision. "At present, there are 1,700 Saudis, including women, working at our outlets in the Kingdom. We have plans to employ as many as 5,000 Saudis by the end of 2018." Yusuffali said "the government's vision and policies, the progressive political environment and robust economy have encouraged us and provided a favorable environment for us to continue to establish ourselves and contribute to the economic growth of the country." "The new store will not only offer a value-for- money shopping experience to the residents of Jeddah, but will also open a window of opportunity to the local community, which is positive news in the current financial climate," he added. Shamlal Ahamed MP told reporters that Malabar Gold taps the vast expansion opportunities in the Kingdom. "We see the Kingdom as an ideal place with barakah (blessing) for business. We receive tremendous response from both Saudi and expatriate consumers who see gold as the best means of saving," he said. After the inaugural ceremony, the dignitaries toured the hypermarket and outlets of Malabar Gold and Alukkas Jewelry at the mall. The dignitaries, who were present on the occasion included Saudi Consul General to UAE Arif Ali Al Taboor Al Nuaimi, Shamlal Ahamed MP, managing director, International Operations of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Khaled Almaeena, Editor-at-Large of Saudi Gazette, Tarek Mishkas, editor in chief of Urdu News and Malayalam News, Alungal Mohammed, president of Al-Abeer Group, VP. Mohammed Ali, director of Jeddah National Hospital, and Dr. Irshad Ahmed, consul press and information. Senior executives of Lulu Group and Malabar Gold, including Executive Director of Lulu Group Ashrafali M.A, CEO Saifee Rupawala, CEO, and Musthafa, regional director of Saudi western region, Malabar Gold's Group Executive Director Abdul Salam KP, Regional Director Gaffoor Edakkuni, and Mohammed Wasem were also present. Built over an area of 200,000 square feet, the new hypermarket is designed with customer convenience and product variety in mind. The outlet has ample parking space of over 1,000 vehicles at a time, wide aisles for easy shopping a range of world-class products and brands at the fairest price, which will be the major attraction of the new outlet. It will have separate sections for fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, fish, dairy products, ready-to-eat products and a state-of-the-art live bakery and hot foods kitchen. In addition to this, the outlet will feature high-fashion garments, electronics, IT products and home appliances, stationery etc. A group of well-trained staff which includes Saudis are geared up to ensure customers a comfortable and wholesome shopping experience. Established in 1993 in Kerala, Malabar Gold & Diamonds today has a strong retail network of 153 outlets spread across nine countries, 10 wholesale units in addition to offices, design centers and factories spread across India, Middle East & Far East. With an annual turnover of $4 billion, the company currently ranks among the world's top five jewelry retailers in terms of annual turnover. With 11 cluster manufacturing units in India and GCC, the company currently has 9 jewelry brands to cater to the discerning needs of customers. The company, owned by more than 1,700 shareholders, which excels in quality products and services, has more than 9000 professionals working for its continued success.
