Abu Dhabi: Lulu Group is set to expand operations in existing and new markets with investments worth over $3 billion (Dh11 billion), according to Shamim Sainulabdeen, product development manager at Lulu Group. This will see the group opening its stores in new markets such as Sri Lanka, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The group is also set to expand its presence in the UAE, India and Saudi Arabia, said Sainulabdeen, speaking to Gulf News at the SIAL Middle East Food Exhibition, which concluded on Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

“We see that there’s stability in the Sri Lankan market now, so it’s the right time to invest there. We are still at the initial stage, so I cannot give a timeline [for the opening of new stores] but maybe, within a span of three years, I can see three or four stores in Sri Lanka,” Sainulabdeen said.

The Group has already set up offices in Sri Lanka, and has recently been invited by the board of investment to examine opportunities for opening new hypermarkets.

Also in Asia, Lulu is working on opening outlets in Indonesia, and Malaysia.

“We set up offices there and we signed [memorandums of understanding] to set up hypermarkets in both these countries. We are projecting a halal factor there, and these markets are very important for us since there are a lot of Asians, and we already know the food trends.

We’ll start by observing the response, and if it is positive, we’ll definitely go with more hypermarkets in this region,” he said.

Lulu will also open its first hypermarket in Egypt in the first quarter of next year. The Group opened an outlet in Cairo a few years ago, but later decided to shut it down due to political unrest in the country.

Untapped

“Egypt is a very big market, and it is untapped, so we think this is the right time for us to make more investments there. The previous store was just a small one, but this time we’re coming in a bigger way,” Sainulabdeen said.

As for expansion plans in existing markets, Lulu is set to open over 20 outlets in Saudi Arabia over the next three years. The outlets will take the brand names to untapped cities such as Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah, among others.

“In India, we already have presence, and it is a success story. We’ll be opening 14 to 15 new outlets in metropolitan cities in a span of three years,” Sainulabdeen said.

With 60-plus stores in the UAE, the country is Lulu’s biggest market, and there are plans to stretch the business through opening 100 to 150 Xpress stores across the country.

Asked about expected performance of the new outlets, Sainulabdeen said, “We identified all these markets as potential markets for our future business, so we expect very good acceptance of our retail stores.”

He also discussed competition in the market, saying that Lulu taps into a niche market that does not have much competition. He said that while most retailers focus on targeting certain ethnic groups, Lulu caters to all nationalities in the country.

Sainulabdeen added that the Group is also looking at other new markets, but did not disclose any details, saying that an announcement will be made in due course.