GMG opens first monop store in Dubai  

UAE-based diversified business GMG has opened the first monop convenience store at Jumeirah Town Centre in Dubai. 

The Jumeirah shop is the 26^th store in the Groupe Casino portfolio and the 47^th store among all retail food brands under the GMG Everyday Goods division. Located on the mall’s ground floor, the store offers a diverse selection of fresh produce and an extensive range of private label products by MONOPRIX and MAISON. Committed to creating an impact towards sustainable and local product sourcing, monop will offer consumers the options of local fresh produce and vertically grown greens.

“At GMG, we are constantly evolving to exceed our consumers’ expectations and looking at ways to innovate and support locally sourced products. monop will feature an indoor vertical farm, brought to you through our partnership with Bustanica, as well as state–of–the–art fresh food and private label range under the monop concept in Dubai,” said Mohammad A. Baker, Deputy Chairman and CEO of GMG. 

GMG acquired Groupe Casino operations in the UAE in 2022, with exclusive rights to expand the Group’s operations in the Middle East. The acquisition included 18 Géant hypermarket and supermarket locations across the UAE, as well as Groupe Casino’s other brands, such as Franprix and Monoprix as well as monop to which GMG also has exclusive rights to expand.

GMG’s constantly evolving retail strategy comes amid a rapid expansion of the UAE’s consumer retail market. The segment is anticipated to grow at nearly 6% in the next five years and touch $37.70 billion by 2027 because of the rising per capita income, a booming tourism sector, a growing number of expatriates and new commercial projects, including malls.  

Spanning 450sqm the monop store features an extensive range of high-quality products such as coffee, specialized imported cheese cuts from around the world, ready hot and cold meals, including a full range of signature Emirates Flight Catering meals, and an array of options in deli and bakery. The store also stocks MONOPRIX brands and other grocery essentials, in addition to spices, nuts and a variety of MAISON non-food products.

“monop is truly unique, a true representation of modern life convenience store, making quality food accessible for everyone. In line with our sustainability efforts to make a change, we are partnering with RECAPP by Veolia to facilitate a more sustainable way of living by allowing consumers to recycle at our branch through in-store recycling stations for plastic, batteries and cans.  In the coming months, we will expand our partnership across more of our retail stores, including Geant and aswaaq branches,” added Marc Laurent, President, Retail – Everyday Goods at GMG.

To date, GMG has introduced over 120 brands and announced plans to double its global workforce by 2025.  Currently, GMG employs over 10,000 people across all its verticals in 12 countries. Further, after the aswaaq acquisition in February this year, GMG has also added 11 community malls and 22 supermarkets to its rapidly expanding retail network.