Dubai: After taking its own time to put its strategy in place, the Lals Group is finally ready to make that big push into Saudi Arabia with its flagship retail business — Homes R Us.

The furnishing and home accessories brand has been the lynchpin of the Group’s retail operations, and currently represents well over 40 per cent. Much of that growth has been sparked by consistently high growth numbers notched up by its UAE-based network of stores. The Group now believes the time is ripe to create a similar set of circumstances in Saudi Arabia.

“If we had planned to open earlier in the Kingdom, say two years ago, we would have failed,” said Jayant Ganwani, CEO of Lals Group. “It’s no secret that opening a furniture business is any day more complicated than a supermarket. Homes R Us has made great improvements over the last 10 years — but a lot of these lessons had to be learnt in our home market, the UAE, before we could try new ones. And Saudi Arabia is an extremely competitive and difficult market for any new entrant.”

The Group will prefer having a partner to ease the way through. “Some sort of local input is mandatory to run a successful venture there,” said Ganwani.

The gameplan is to finalise a commitment before the end of the year and then ensure that new store openings will not take up more than five to six months. (Two other Group brands, the kidswear brands Oshkosh and Carter’s, already have an exposure there.)

And the Group has no intentions to change the mix that helped Homes R Us entrench itself on the UAE retail landscape. “It caters to one particular socio-economic demographic segment which is budget-conscious shopper,” said Ganwani. “Our competition had often tried to tinker with their positioning in the market and I don’t think it has worked.”

Ganwani prefers the standalone format for Homes R Us, wherever locations are available and can offer it the breadth of space. “Selling furniture through in-mall stores has not been the easiest format, that’s why” he said. “Consumers still have a preference to drive to a standalone furniture store.”

While it has an eye on the main chance in Saudi Arabia, the Group is taking keen interest in further possibilities Qatar can offer. “Business has been very good there and headed in the right direction,” said Ganwani. “The challenge with Qatar will always be the [current small size of its] population. Dubai’s open policy is a phenomenal support to its ambition, Qatar is heading that way. But they need to be proactive with maintaining the openness policies.

“There is huge growth forecast for the population and that would mean more disposable incomes. With around 30 new malls coming up, Qatar is very much a go-to place.”