Abu Dhabi
Lulu Group is aggressively expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia with plans to invest 800 million Saudi riyals in new store openings. The the UAE-based retail chain said in a statement on Thursday it has opened its latest hypermarket in Riyadh, further boosting its retail presence in kingdom.
The 240,000-square-feet hypermarket houses multiple brands including Sparkys and Darbar Restaurant, along with ATMs, money exchange houses and a pharmacy among others.
“We are very clear in our approach to expansion. I am very confident about the economic situation of Saudi Arabia and have full trust in the visions of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. And we are fully committed to continue our forwards march”, Yousuf Ali MA, managing director of Lulu Group, said in statement. He added that Lulu is set to open eight more hypermarkets in different parts of the kingdom in the next 24 months.
“Providing job opportunities to local youth is one of our core focus areas, and we will continue to recruit more nationals into our operations in different categories from front line sales staff to technical and managerial positions,” Ali stated.
Lulu had earlier told Gulf News that it has expansion plans worth over $3 billion in various markets internationally as the group is looking to enter new markets such as Sri Lanka, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The latest hypermarket was inaugurated by Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz in the presence of Hamid Ali Rao, India’s Ambassador to the Kingdom; Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Saud; and Yusuff Ali MA, among other officials, the company stated.
