UAE’s Lulu Group opens first hypermarket in Egypt; to invest EGP 3 bln

The United Arab Emirates-based retail chain, Lulu Group, opened its first hypermarket in Cairo, Egypt, and plans to set up 10 more across the country over the next two years, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Chairman Yusuff Ali MA said Lulu Group will be investing EGP 3 billion ($383 million) to set up the new hypermarkets.

He added the group will boost local agriculture sector by promoting its produce and exporting to Lulu stores across GCC and the Far East.

"Currently, we are exporting EGP 50 million ($6.38 million) and this will go up to EGP 150 million ($19. 2 million) next year,” he said.

Main products for export include fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, and pickles.

Plans are also in place to set up Lulu’s own food processing plants to further boost the exports, the statement said.

Yusuff Ali also announced new jobs for the community, saying 800 Egyptians are employed at Lulu’s Cairo store and the figure is expected to go up to 10,000 over the next two years.

"We already have more than 3,000 working in our operations in GCC countries and continuously train them in our various operations,” Yusuff Ali said.

The new store, located in Twin Plaza on Zakir Hussein road, is Lulu’s 119th hypermarket.

GCC countries have been investing in Egypt across sectors – including infrastructure, energy and retail – after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi opened the doors for GCC investment in his country.

Nearly 600 companies from the UAE are already present in Egypt, the statement said.

Recently, Egyptian minister of tourism Hisham Zaazou was reported to have announced the interest of a Saudi Arabian businessman to build a $4 billion tourist project in Egypt’s Red Sea region of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Lulu Group will also be opening its first hypermarket in Malaysia and Indonesia by March 2016, with 15 more planned over the next two years, the statement said.