Lulu Group opens 150th hypermarket, plans to invest SAR1-bn in KSA

Lulu Group has crossed a major milestone as a leading retailer in the region by opening its 150^th Hypermarket in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located at the newly launched Atyaf Mall in Yarmouk, this mega hypermarket, the 13^th in Saudi Arabia is spread across 220,000 sqft area and is the biggest in the Kingdom.

The Hypermarket was officially inaugurated by Engineer Ibrahim Al Omer, governor; Ibrahim Al Suwail, Dy. governor of Saudi General Investment Authority (SAGIA); along with Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; LuLu Group chairman Yusuffali MA; executive director Ashraf Ali MA; CEO Saifee Rupawala; Lulu Saudi director Shehim Mohammed; and other dignitaries & royal family members.

Commenting on the newly inaugurated hypermarket, Yusuffali says, “We are absolutely delighted to open our group’s 150^th and KSA’s 13^th 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.”

Elaborating on Lulu Group’s expansion plans, he adds, “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the Kingdom and are glad to be part of the 2030 vision by further expanding our presence here. We will open another 15 hypermarkets by 2020 at an investment of SAR1 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 SAR1 billion we have already invested in the Kingdom till now.”

Commenting on Saudisation and the Group’s training policy, Yusuffali states, “Currently, our group employs more than 3,000 Saudi nationals 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 programme, 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.

Apart from the retail expansion we are investing another SAR200 million in setting up a 1 million sqft state-of-the-art wholesale and logistics centre in King Abdulla Economic City (KAEC), which will not only support our retail expansion but also help in ensuring food security.

“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 Defence, the government and the people of this great country who have always given tremendous support to investments and economic development,” concludes Yusuffali.