Lulu on track with its expansion in sync with Saudi Vision 2030

UAE-based retail conglomerate Lulu Group has further expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia by opening its 11th hypermarket in the Kingdom. The new hypermarket which is also the second outlet in Jeddah was officially inaugurated by Ibrahim Saleh Al Suwail, deputy governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) on December 20.

“We are moving in line with Vision 2030, and the Kingdom’s robust economy and the government’s investor-friendly policies have encouraged and provided us with a favourable environment to continue to establish ourselves and to contribute to the economic growth of the Kingdom. As I mentioned earlier, our expansion plans are firm in the Kingdom and by 2020, the country will get another 20 Lulu Hypermarkets out of which six will be opened by the year 2018. It includes two hypermarkets in Riyadh followed by one each in Tabuk and Dammam,” says Yusuffali MA, chairman of Lulu Group.

“Currently, our group employs 2,400 Saudi Nationals out of which 1,100 are female staff, and we consider it as our duty to nurture them as we have a very hardworking, dedicated and productive workforce in Saudi Nationals. As I promised earlier, our goal is to employ 5,000 Saudi Nationals by the year 2020 and 10,000 by 2024,” adds Yusuffali.

The 142nd hypermarket of Lulu Group located on Al Haramain road in Jeddah and spread over an area of more than 250,000-sqft will serve as a primary shopping destination for Saudis and expatriates in Al Marwah and its surrounding areas.

“We attribute our success to the visionary leadership of His Majesty, the custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. Also HRH Mohammed Bin Salman, the crown prince, the government and the people of this great country who have always given tremendous support to investments and economic development,” he continues.

“Currently, we have ten hypermarkets and eight Aramco commissaries in Saudi Arabia. This shows the kind of demand for quality shopping that exists here, and we are pleased to bring another world-class shopping experience again as close as possible to the residents of Jeddah and its nearby areas,” states Yusuffali.

“We are planning to expand aggressively here as the Kingdom is investing heavily in various sectors, which will surely spur all-round growth,” he says. “We have already invested more than SAR800 million till now and intend to allot SAR500 million by the end of 2019 further, taking our total investment to more than SAR1.3 billion in the Kingdom.”

“Very recently the Kingdom has witnessed some path-breaking economic policies like the announcement of SR72 billion stimulus package to the private sector by the custodian of the two Holy Mosques and the unveiling of NEOM Mega City by HRH crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman. These historic decisions will see colossal investment pouring into the country, which will undoubtedly benefit the economy of the nation by job creation, GDP growth and boosting the local industries in the Kingdom,” elaborates Yusuffali.

The new store will not only offer a value-for-money shopping experience to the residents of Jeddah but will also open a window of opportunity to the local community, which is positive news in the current financial climate. The opening of the newest Hypermarket saw the group, which is in an extensive expansion mode, anchor itself firmly in the modern, customer-centric retail landscape of the Kingdom. The new hypermarket also hosts money exchange outlets, jewellery shops, family entertainment centre and ATM, among others.