Middle Eastern retail giant, the Lulu Group International, will be opening its hypermarket in Kochi in Kerala – its first in India – by the end of 2012. By opening this store, Lulu will be able to assess the Indian market for opening more such outlets in future, a senior company official has said. The group is planning to set up its own warehouse and back-end infrastructure to support their Kochi retail venture.
The Lulu hypermarket will be located at the Lulu Cochin Mall being developed by the Abu Dhabi-based EMKE Group, which is the parent company of the famous hypermarket chain. The Lulu Hypermarket will be located on the ground floor of the property with an area of 2,20,000 sq.ft. and sell fresh, frozen, and canned food as well as fruits and vegetables along with counters for butchery, bakery, and hot food.
Speaking exclusively to IndiaRetailing, Yusuff Ali MA, the Managing Director of the EMKE Group, said that the company wants to sell quality products in India at affordable prices with a strong value proposition. “India is huge market with a very high young population. We want to first test the market in the country by opening this hypermarket in Kochi. We want to get our sourcing right to maintain the strategy of selling affordable yet quality products at our stores. We have maintained this strategy wherever we are present in the Middle East,” Ali said.
Meanwhile, the company is aggressively expanding in the Middle East and wants to enter new markets like Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya which are opening up to the outside world after the Arab Spring.
-Priyanka Dasgupta
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