RIYADH — The region’s top retailer LuLu Group has revealed that it’s going ahead with its expansion plans despite the challenges faced due to COVID-19 pandemic across the world. The popular hypermarket chain will open 5 new hypermarkets this year in the Kingdom. Currently there are 34 LuLu hypermarkets and supermarkets including 17 Commissaries in Aramco, Petroleum Research Center, 5 outlets inside National Guard and 4 shopping malls in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al Khobar regions serving more than 250,000 customers daily. Commenting on the new projects Yusuffali MA, chairman of LuLu Group said “KSA is a very important market for us and we have full confidence in the economic scenario and future prospects in the Kingdom, thanks to the wise leadership of the rulers and their proactive initiatives. “Our main focus will be to take the world-class shopping experience nearer to residents not only in big cities but also in Tier-2 cities such as Hail, Al Hasa, Al Kharj, Jubail, Tabuk which have witnessed exponential growth. With the completion of these 5 new projects, our aim is to provide employment to 1,000 more Saudi nationals, in addition to 2,800 already employed by us including more than 1,000 ladies.” “As per our plans 3 hypermarkets were supposed to be already opened, but we had to postpone the inauguration due to the global pandemic situation. Now that the restrictions have been lifted and with resumption of normal activities, we have decided to go ahead and launch new hypermarkets on a priority basis” added Yusuffali. New initiatives As part of it’s commitment to support and promote Kingdom’s non-oil based trade, LuLu Group has signed special agreement with Ministry of Agriculture and Saudi Export House to promote Saudi dates and local products outside KSA in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Egypt & GCC countries. Another focus area would be the expansion of LuLu online shopping to cover larger area with bigger range of grocery and fresh produce. COVID Challenges Yusuffali further said that the “thanks to the visionary leadership of the Kingdom, the pandemic situation has been controlled very well and various sectors including the retail, tourism and other trade activities are returning to normal and this will further accelerate the national economy. We are proud to be part of the KSA’s overall development and will continue to support sustainable development strategies.” During the outbreak of pandemic situation, the role played by leading hypermarkets and supermarket chains such as LuLu Group is highly commendable, as they have ensured un-interrupted food supply from around the world at most affordable prices, which resulted in zero-panic situation in the Kingdom. — SG