It is part of a wider strategy to expand its retail portfolio and move into new lifestyle categories DUBAI: Saudi retail giant Alhokair is bringing Flying Tiger and Alo Yoga to the Kingdom. The arrival of American leisure brand Alo Yoga and Danish variety retailer Flying Tiger Copenhagen comes as Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co. looks to expand its offering after a tough year for the retail sector. It is part of a wider strategy to expand its retail portfolio and move into new lifestyle categories, according to a bourse filing on Monday. Alo Yoga, which sells a collection of yoga clothing and accessories, will open in the Kingdom Center in Riyadh — its first outlet outside the US. Alhokair is planning to open 45 Flying Tiger stores in five years, with nine outlets and an online store operational in the first year. The Danish retailer currently has around 900 stores in 27 countries. Saudi Arabia’s retail sector is one of the Kingdom’s priority areas as it seeks to reduce its reliance on oil. Alhokair is moving forward with an ambitious expansion plan, aiming to open around 57 food and beverage outlets in the next 12 to 16 months, and at least another 50 retail stores in the fashion, cosmetics, beauty and sports sectors, the company’s CEO told Arab News. “We are always exploring every interesting brand that has a future potential,” Marwan Moukarzel, CEO of Alhokair, said in March. “We are always exploring every interesting brand that has a future potential, ‘omni-chanellable,’ ‘Instagramable,’ and has a potential in the Saudi market,” Marwan Moukarzel, CEO of Alhokair, said in March. Alhokair is also moving into the digital sector and in March announced it had partnered with shopping center operator Arabian Centers Company (ACC) to acquire a majority stake in UK-based e-commerce platform Vogacloset, in a deal worth SR68.85 million ($18.36 million). Its online business has seen strong growth and in its full year report for 2020, it reported a 311 percent surge in online activity in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. Formed in 1990, Alhokair operates 1,580 stores across around 100 shopping malls in 13 countries, employing more than 10,000 people and representing 81 brands, spanning womenswear, menswear, kids and baby, department stores, shoes and accessories, cosmetics and coffee shops.