LuLu Hypermarket is forging ahead with ambitious expansion plans that include the opening of 42 new Hypermarkets in the next two years. The chain plans to open seven new hypermarkets in the UAE in 2014-15, six in Oman, four each in Qatar and Kuwait, three each in Bahrain and Egypt, and 15 in Saudi Arabia. New markets are also being explored in Malaysia, Indonesia, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Libya.
These expansion plans come close on the heels of the Arab spring that has led these countries to liberalize the foreign investment law. There is demand for organized retail instead of traditional and that is exactly what LuLu offers.
We have already expanded into other areas, including 65 Lulu International Exchange branches in India, the Far East and Africa and another 40 planned in the next three years in the MENA, India and Philippines. Shopping malls and real estate projects, opening 12 malls in five years with plans for seven more, as well as mixed-use projects in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India are also on the anvil.
Shopping malls complement hypermarkets and vice versa. That is the reason why the group is investing in shopping malls whilst the core business remains hypermarkets. This is our business model. LuLu’s diversification will always be in sectors related to retail.
