Abu Dhabi-based EMKE Group – alias Lulu Group – will open its first India hypermarket in Kochi, Kerala by the year’s end.
Sprawling over an area of about 200,000 sqft within Lulu Shopping Mall’s ground floor, Lulu Hypermarket is committed to establish a new-age shopping ambience by blending all possible needs of customers under one roof. Lulu Group also plans to establish a warehouse and back-end infrastructure to support the foray.
EMKE Group MD Yusuff Ali MA, who sees opportunity in India’s huge young population, said the Kochi retail venture is to test Indian market.
“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 Lulu Shopping Mall, spread across ground plus three floors, occupying 1,698,261 sqft, will be managed by India’s mall advisory company Beyond Squarefeet.
Lulu Hypermarket operates more than 100 stores across the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Future expansion plans include foray in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
GB
