Lulu Hypermarket, part of UAE-based Emke Group, which opened its first hypermarket in Saudi Arabia recently, enjoys 32.5 percent of the organized retail sector, latest research showed. The Group's aggressive expansion plan is expected to boost its market share further. With an investment of SR140 million in the Group's first hypermarket in the Kingdom, Yusuffali Ma, managing director of the Group, said “we plan to invest another SR600 million by opening two hypermarkets and two departments stores in Riyadh next year.” “We are also finalizing new projects in Jeddah and other parts of this great country,” Yusuffali added. Ma further said “we see tremendous market potential in this part of the region here and have done serious research before finalizing the exact location. Each of our stores have well defined catchment area and target shopper base, which ensures that we are easily accessible to the bulk of residents.” Located at the King Fahd Street in Al-Khobar, the new hypermarket is the 76th branch of the Lulu Hypermarket Group in the Gulf. This new hypermarket covers an area of 250,000 sq. ft and will offer a whole world of shopping convenience with popular brands of a wide variety of product lines under one roof. The main focus area of LuLu Hypermarket will be the extensive supermarket section with fresh vegetables, fruits, butchery and delicatessen serving hot and ready-to-eat foods and special counters serving the best of bakes and cakes and an array of Arabic sweets and delicacies apart from a wide range of electronics and IT products, white goods, garments, sports equipment, etc. In keeping with its objective of providing the best quality products in the most hygiene way, Lulu hypermarket has invested heavily in special areas, such as state-of-the-art storing facilities, latest baking and cooking machines, among others. The new hypermarket has ample parking facility for more than 1000 vehicles. In addition, the yypermarket will also feature a number of other outlets including Giordano, Joy Alukkas, Malabar Gold, Dar Optics, coffee shop and a food court. It will also include an antique shop, pharmacy, money exchange center and host of other branded outlets. “This hypermarket is also going to be the most eco friendly project with many unique features to reduce the carbon footprint. The state-of-art logistics, refrigeration, LED lighting, cooling system, bio-degradable bags are all going to be “first-of-its- kind” in the region”, he added. “We have currently employed around 200 local Saudi youth and plan to increase this by another 1250 by the end of 2010. We plan to train the locals recruited here by deploying them in our other branches across the GCC.”
