Badr bin Mohammed Al-Otaishan, Governor of Jubail, cuts the ribbon marking the opening of new LuLu Hypermarket in Jubail. On his left is Yusuff Ali M.A., Managing Director, several other executives and high ranking officials are also seen in the photo. — SG



Saeed Haider

Saudi Gazette

JUBAIL — The leading retail chain in the Gulf region, Lulu Group, has added another feather in its cap by opening its yet another hypermarket in Jubail in the Eastern Province, thus expanding its market base in the Kingdom. The new store was officially inaugurated Sunday by Badr Bin Mohammed Al-Otaishan, Governor of Jubail along with Prince Sauk Bin Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz, in the presence of high ranking government officials, businessmen and prominent citizens.



Yusuf Ali M.A., Managing Director; Saifee T. Rupawala, CEO; Ashraf Ali M.A., Executive Director; Althaf M.M., Director; Shehim Mohammed, Regional Director - Central Province; Muhammed Basheer, Regional Director - Eastern Province; and other senior officials of Lulu Group were also present on the occasion.



The entire hypermarket covers an area of  240,000 sq. ft. in Jubail’s prime location and offers a unique shopping experience to the residents of Jubail and its adjoining areas.



“We are very clear in our approach to expansion in the Kingdom and I am very confident that this great country will further prosper under the visionary leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, and we are fully committed to continuing our forward march,” said Yusuff Ali M.A. after the inauguration. He also said the Kingdom will see seven more hypermarkets coming up in the next 22 months in various locations across the country, wherein Dammam will be the next in line for opening.



Mohammed Basheer, regional director, said the hypermarket will showcase a fresh food section comprising fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish  and a huge area dedicated to department store which includes high fashion garments, electronics, IT products and home appliances. The hypermarket also houses Sparkys for family entertainment; international Jewelry chains like Malabar Gold, Joy Alukkas; Giordano for fashion ware; food court consisting of authentic Indian fine dining, Arabic and Filipino cuisine, fast food counters, coffee shops, perfume shops, mobile, watches and cosmetics, gift & accessories, apart from ATM and money exchanges.



With three stores in Riyadh, one in Al-Khobar and seven outlets in Saudi Aramco, LuLu has firmly established itself as one of the most preferred retail destination for both locals and the large expatriate community residing here. The chain records a whopping 710,000 plus footfall every day and is the preferred destination for diverse and multi-ethnic shoppers. The LuLu philosophy has always been “good quality products at fair prices with friendly service”.



LuLu Hypermarket, which employs more than 32,000 people from 38 countries in its various locations, has a very clear human resource development policy especially when it comes to providing training and job opportunities to the Saudi youth. LuLu employs Saudis in almost all categories and continuously supports government’s vision of providing jobs to the local youth.



“Providing job opportunities to local youth is one of our core focus areas and we will continue to recruit more nationals, majority of whom are women workforce into our operations in different categories from frontline sales staff to technical and managerial positions. With oil price showing positive growth and recession is thing of the past, we see tremendous development taking place in Gulf economies and we intend to play our part in the growth process,” Yusuf Ali added.



Within the hypermarket, the exclusive showroom of Malabar Gold was also inaugurated by the visiting dignitaries in the presence of Dr. P. A. Ibrahim, Co-Chairman of Malabar Gold and Diamonds. It is offering one gram gold coin free with every purchase of diamond jewelry worth SR5,000 and a gold coin free with every purchase of gold jewelry worth SR3,000.



Ghafoor E., regional director at Malabar Gold and Diamonds, said their outlet in Jubail will display intricately designed international collection of classic as well as contemporary jewelry dexterously crafted in gold, diamond and platinum at attractive prices. The astounding creation of Malabar Gold & Diamonds’ branded jewelry including Ethnix - Handcrafted Designer Jewelry, Era - Uncut Diamond Jewelry, Mine - Diamonds Unlimited, Divine- Indian Heritage Jewelry, Precia - Precious Gem Jewelry and Starlet - Kids Jewelry will also be available in the showroom.  Dr. P.A. Ibrahim, co-chairman in an informal chat with Saudi Gazette said the focus of his jewelry chain has always been on providing a wide range of choice for customers who seek excellent value in jewelry. But their true strength is the shopping experience, with appealing stores staffed by friendly and knowledgeable jewelry consultants who are trained to help the customers in their purchasing decisions.



Malabar Gold & Diamonds started its international operations in the year 2008 with the opening of a single outlet in Sharjah. Today, the group operates 51 stores across the Middle East and Far East markets. In Saudi Arabia, the jewelry chain operates showrooms at Al-Khobar, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah and Makkah.



Malabar Gold and Diamonds is the flagship company of Malabar Group, a leading diversified Indian business conglomerate. With an annual turnover of $3.5 billion, the company currently ranks among the world’s top five jewelry retailers in terms of annual turnover.