Home Centre eyes new markets, 50 new stores by 2020

Dubai-based homeware retailer Home Centre marks its 20th anniversary celebrations by announcing plans to expand its regional presence, adding over 50 new stores in the next five years.

The brand has grown from a single store opened in Sharjah in 1995 into an international network of nearly 90 stores spread across 10 countries, occupying a total space of four million sqft.

While continuing to strengthen its existing market presence, the retailer will also explore expansion opportunities both through organic growth and new franchise operations. Home Centre has also drawn up plans to enter at least six new markets during the period, including Kazakhstan, Morocco, Kenya, Algeria and Angola. The brand’s projected expansion is expected to create around 3,000 additional job opportunities by 2020.

Home Centre CEO Médéric Payne attributes the brand’s success to the extensive product offering, affordable pricing and customer-centric approach that have been the cornerstones of its business strategy. He also revealed the brand’s plans to invest over $273 million over the next five years to strengthen its presence across the MENA and Asia. “Home Centre will also remodel over 40 existing stores in the region and reinforce its existing supply chain and enhance its warehouse infrastructure.”

In a bid to adapt to evolving customer needs, Home Centre aims to introduce a wider offering over the next five years to include a range of innovative products, a lifestyle range of home storage options, modular furniture concepts as well as completely new product categories.

“Twenty years marks a significant milestone for a home-grown brand like ours that has today evolved to become the region’s preferred home shopping destination. We started with a vision to provide customers with high quality products at affordable prices and today two decades later, customer satisfaction continues to remain a prime focus for us,” Payne emphasises.

“In our endeavour to extend an exceptional brand experience, we ensure that our product range is aligned with global trends, while continuing to cater to our diverse local customer base as well. We also routinely revamp our store design and enhance our customer service experience in line with new technology and changing trends that sweep the home retail market.”

Further the retailer is also gearing up to launch an online platform on September 20. The site will enable customers across the UAE to browse and shop for more than 2,500 products ranging from furniture to household accessories.

“While the brick-and-mortar format will continue to be important for Home Centre, our foray into the online shopping space is strategically aligned to bring greater convenience to our customers and in future, help the brand reach out to new customers without the constraints of geographical boundaries. We believe that e-commerce as an avenue has strong growth potential and this is an important step towards our goal of offering our customers a complete omni-channel experience,” adds Payne.