AL KHARJ —

Leading retail company, UAE-based LuLu Group has launched its newest hypermarket in Al Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The hypermarket which is also 15th in the Kingdom and 158th globally was officially inaugurated by Musaed Abdullah Al Madhi, Governor of Al Kharj in the presence of many dignitaries.

Strategically located at the heart of Al Kharj, the new hypermarket covers a total built-up area of more than 161,000 square feet. With the signature LuLu design aesthetic, the store features a conducive and spacious store layout and organized product stations for world class shopping experience.

Yusuff Ali M A, Chairman of LuLu Group, said: “We are proud to reach out to another potential market in Saudi Arabia, where we come closer and give a conducive shopping environment to shoppers based in distant locations 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.”

Elaborating Group’s expansion plans, Yusuff Ali said “we are upbeat about the vast investment opportunities laid open in the Kingdom, thanks to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

“We have already announced that as part of our expansion plans, 15 new hypermarkets will be opened in the Kingdom by 2020 at an investment of SR1 billion. Under this plan, three hypermarkets have already been opened & another two hypermarkets are in line to be opened in Dammam and North Riyadh within next three months.

This is apart from the SR1 billion that we have already invested in the Kingdom till now, he added.

Recently, we have signed an agreement with the Saudi Arabian National Guard to open two shopping centers and seven supermarkets in Dammam and Al Ahsa which will further generate sizeable employment for local Saudi youth and also serve the National Guard officials and their families in best possible manner. Works are in full swing to open three stores in National Guard campus before the end of 2019.

“Investors need to support the economic reforms that are being introduced to boost the Kingdom’s economy and have to play an active role in the efforts to generate more jobs for the citizens, noted Yusuff Ali.

LuLu Group currently employs more than 2,700 Saudi nationals including females in their various hypermarkets across the Kingdom. “Our goal is to give employment to more than 5,000 nationals by the end of 2020”, added Yusuff Ali.

“We also take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and the government who have always given tremendous support to investments and economic development which ultimately generate more employment opportunities to the Saudi citizens.”

With 15 hypermarkets and eight Aramco commissaries in its entity, LuLu has firmly established itself as one of the most preferred retail destinations for both citizens and the expatriate community residing in the Kingdom. — SG