RIYADH — The Lulu Group has crossed a major milestone as the leading retailer in the region by opening 150th Hypermarket in Riyadh. The Hypermarket which is LuLu’s biggest was officially inaugurated by Eng. Ibrahim Al Omer, governor, Ibrahim Al Suwail, deputy governor of Saudi General Investment Authority (SAGIA), along with Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador, LuLu Group Chairman Yusuff Ali M.A., Shehim Mohammed, Lulu Saudi Director and other dignitaries and royal family members.

Located at the newly launched Atyaf Mall in Yarmouk, this mega hypermarket, the 13th in the country, is spread across 220,000 square feet area.

Commenting on the newly inaugurated hypermarket, Yusuff Ali M.A. said: “We are absolutely delighted to open our group’s 150th and KSA’s 13 hypermarket today in Riyadh and I am sure the shoppers here will be pleased by the new retail experience we have created here. Through our internationally sourced quality products and enthusiastic staff, Lulu has been the most preferred destination for different nationalities and we will continue to preserve this identity with our new store.”

Expansion Plans

Elaborating Group’s expansion plans, Yusuff Ali said, “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the Kingdom and are glad to be part of the Vision 2030 by further expanding our presence here. We will open another 15 hypermarkets by 2020 at an investment of SR1 billion out of which five will be opened this year itself. This includes three Hypermarkets in Riyadh followed by one each in Tabuk and Dammam. This is apart from the SR1 billion we have already invested in the Kingdom till now.”

Saudization & Training policy

“Currently, our group employs more than 3,000 Saudi nationals out of which 1,400 are ladies which is approximately 40% Saudization. And our goal is to give employment to 6,000 Saudi nationals by the end of 2020. We have a very elaborate and effective multi-level training program, through which we not only train them here but also send the local recruits to our other regions in the GCC & India for training in various departments. We have also tied up with Saudi vocational institutions and universities in this regard.”

Logistics & Wholesale sector development

Apart from the retail expansion we are investing SR200 million in setting up a 1 million sq. ft. state-of-the-art wholesale & logistics center in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), which will not only support our retail expansion but also help in ensuring food security.

Yusuffali further said: “We attribute our success to the visionary leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, the government and the people of this great country who have always given tremendous support to investments and economic development.”

LuLu Hypermarket, where the world comes to shop — is the top retailer in the Middle East and the fastest growing hypermarket business worldwide. Garnering more than 1,100,000 shopping patrons every day, it is the fastest growing retail chain across 10 countries that include the GCC, India, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Founded in the early nineties, it has successfully expanded to different parts of the world and currently operates 150 stores with a staff force of more than 46,000.

LuLu Hypermarket, where the world comes to shop:

• Providing more than 1,100,000 customers an unparalleled shop0ping experience daily across the globe.

• No. 1 retail chain in the Middle East and one among the top 10 fastest growing retailers globally.

• Operations in UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

• One of the Middle East’s top employers with a global workforce of more than 46,000. — SG