Emax, the electronics retailing arm of Al- Bandar Trading in Saudi Arabia, unveiled yet another large format electronic store in Al-Hassa region at Al-Othaim Mall Hofuf on Dec. 30, 2008 and is set to open at least five more stores in the major cities of the Kingdom this year. By the end of 2010, Emax plans to have 2 more stores across the Kingdom at an investment of SR500 million. Emax also plans to have a major presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Muscat aside from expansion into the Indian subcontinent by the end of this fiscal year. Expansion into China and Eastern Europe are also in the pipeline. The largest electronic store at Othaim Mall, Hofuf was inaugurated by Bassim Yassein Waleed, Al- Hassa C.O.C deputy chairman, with a colorful display of traditional Saudi sword dance & events for children & ladies. The reception that Emax got from the customers in Hofuf was so overwhelming that the store had to be kept open late into the night to satisfy the shopping needs of the discerning customers. Customers at Emax have access to highly-trained customer service & technical staff .The store is featured with whole range of electronic products and services of all international brands. Neelesh Bhatnagar, director of Landmark Group and CEO of Centrepoint and Emax, said “a lot of effort has gone into the shaping up of our Emax store at Othaim Mall, Hofuf. We believe that the changing demands of the region have led to the need for such a retailing concept, which is prevalent in Al-Hassa region. The Emax will raise the bar for electronics retailing and customer expectations for range and quality of service.” He further said “Landmark Group has been at the forefront of creating some of the most unique concepts in retailing in the region including Home Centre, Splash, Babyshop and Lifestyle. With Emax we plan to revolutionize technology retailing with its unique business model that combines the best brands, overwhelming product diversity, a range of never-before-customer-friendly-services and astonishing value, all in a large format store.” He added “any serious player in the Middle East electronic retailing sphere cannot ignore the Kingdom from its road map (and) Emax is no exception. We have leveraged on the considerable strength of Landmark group in the Kingdom, in terms of locations as well as goodwill and understanding of the local customer psychographics.” The aggressive rollout plan of Emax clarifies its intent to dominate the Saudi Electronics market in future. The first Big box store was set up in Jeddah followed by the store at Hofuf. E Max plans to open stores in Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Al-Khobar in 2009. ‘'We have set up a world-class in-house facility to train Saudi youngsters before they are deployed at the stores in line of Saudization objective of the Ministry of Labor,” Bhatnagar said. The new expansion plan, once executed, will provide employment opportunities for more than 1,000 Saudi nationals at a time. Emax is also looking at vertical integration by bringing in distribution, exports and after-sales service to its fold. “We have already signed up with some major international brands for their distribution to the entire Middle East. We will soon make a detailed announcement to this effect. After-sales service is a natural extension to the on-floor service we provide the customers. We will become a one-stop solution provider for all the electronic needs of the customer,” he noted.
