Lulu Group to invest 700m Saudi riyals in Kingdom

Abu Dhabi: Lulu Group, the Abu Dhabi-based retail chain, announced on Wednesday plans to launch four more hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia this year — two in Jeddah and one each in Hail and Hofuf.

The group is also set to launch six additional hypermarkets in the Kingdom in 2017, with locations that include Makkah and Madina.

“We have already invested more than 800 million Saudi riyals till now, and intend to further invest 700 million Saudi riyals (Dh684.69 million) by the end of 2017, taking our total investment to more than 1.5 billion Saudi riyals in the Kingdom,” said Yousuf Ali M.A., chairman of Lulu Group.

The announcement came during an inauguration ceremony of Lulu’s latest hypermarket in Saudi Arabia’s city of Dammam, marking the group’s sixth outlet in the Kingdom and 121st in the GCC.

The latest hypermarket houses a family entertainment section, a food court, coffee shops, a pharmacy, and a money exchange outlet.

Yusuffali M.A. added that the group plans to provide employment to 5,000 Saudi nationals by the end of 2017, with 1,500 Saudi national already working at Lulu.

The news comes in a series of announcements on vast global expansion by Lulu Group, after it said over the past few weeks it will invest $300 million in opening 10 hypermarkets in Egypt over the next two years.

The retailer also said it would invest a further $90 million to grow operations in Bahrain over the next 18 months, as well as plans to invest another $150 million in the Indian city of Lucknow.

In July last year, Lulu Group made headlines when it announced it has finalised a £110 million deal to acquire the Great Scotland Yard, home of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, with plans to transform the building into a five-star hotel.