Dubai: Azizia Panda United, the company which owns a chain of HyperPanda hypermarkets, plans to roll out between eight and 12 supermarkets and hypermarkets in the UAE over the next three years, with an investment of Dh2-3 billion, according to the company’s chief executive, Muwaffaq M. Jamal.

Currently, Azizia Panda, which is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia-based Savola Group, a producer of cooking oil, sugar and other foodstuffs, has one outlet in the UAE — HyperPanda in Dubai Festival City. In the first half of 2015, though, a new supermarket, which will go by the name Panda, will join the existing outlet in Dubai.

“The location has been finalised and we are negotiating the contractor,” Jamal said on the sidelines of a press conference in Dubai on Thursday.

Also, two more outlets will open in Dubai, three to four in Sharjah and two in Ajman between late 2015 and 2016. Jamal declined to comment on the locations of the new supermarkets and hypermarkets. The company also expects to open outlets in Abu Dhabi between 2016 and 2017.

Azizia Panda posted a 25 per cent growth in profit and revenue for the first half of the year, while sales grew by 13 per cent, which Jamal expects to continue in the second half of the year. He did not provide actual figures.

Alongside the company’s aggressive expansion in the UAE, it is also looking to enter Egypt next year, with up to seven outlets in Cairo, which will be a combination of standalone stores and stores within shopping malls, Jamal told Gulf News.

“In the first half [of the year], we will witness two [openings] — one supermarket and one hypermarket, and in the second half, we will witness 3-5 [openings] — two supermarkets and three hypermarkets,” Jamal said.

Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile, Azizia Panda is looking to expand in its domestic market, Saudi Arabia, as well where the company currently has more than 250 supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores. It has invested Dh3 billion this year in the country, and plans to invest Dh1-2 billion a year over the next four to five years in new stores and warehouses, and the expansion of its fleet.

“By the end of the year, we will exceed 300 stores [in Saudi Arabia],” Jamal said.

Its new 400 million Saudi riyal (Dh391.7 million) warehouse in Saudi Arabia’s west coast is expected to open in the first half of 2015, and another warehouse in the east coast, with a similar investment, is set to open in 2018.

Azizia Panda has a market share of 8.9 per cent in Saudi Arabia, where the market is valued at 142 billion Saudi riyals, Jamal said.

Savola Group is in talks with Kuwait Food, also known as Americana, about buying a stake in the company. When asked about this, Jamal did not comment.