Al Meera, a leading retail chain in Qatar, said it has achieved a 29.4 per cent growth in sales for 2013 which soared to QR1.94 billion ($532 million) from QR1.5 billion the previous year.

Announcing the  results, Abdulla Bin Khalid Al Qahtani, the chairman of Al Meera Consumer Goods said its net profit surged 85.4 per cent from QR105.8 million to QR196.1 million, inclusive of QR71.4 million net gain on expropriation of land and building in Al Khor.

According to him, the new branches added in Qatar during the year have increased its store space by approximately 4,100 sq m.

The beginning of 2013 saw the inauguration of Al Meera’s first Géant Hypermarket at Hyatt Plaza which is the culmination of an agreement signed between Al Meera and French retailer Casino to develop a network of hypermarkets and supermarkets under the Géant banners in selected Middle East countries.

"The opening of the Géant Hypermarket is in line with our commitment to all our stakeholders to provide high quality and diverse product offerings for our customers," stated Al Qahtani.

Fulfilling Al Meera’s pledge to the communities all over Qatar, Al Meera has successfully opened two new neighbourhood malls – Nuaija Mall and Lqutaifiya Mall – and three convenience stores located in Sealine, Beverly Hills 3, and Barwa Messaimeer, during the year.

Nuaija Mall, built to international and stringent specifications, has been outfitted with Al Meera’s new interior design to allow for and create a more convenient and memorable shopping experience.

"The new 2,000 sq m store at Nuaija reconfirms our promises to shoppers to deliver a breadth of fresh food offerings, while adhering to the strict international standards to ensure product freshness and quality," he noted.

The top official said Al Meera had opened its 850 sq m store in Lqutaifiya Mall opened in November last year. "Also outfitted with the latest interior design and lighting system, the new look and design of the mall has attracted the attention of many well-known national and international retailers and restaurant operators who have expressed desire to partner with Al Meera in this and all its future malls."

This was the first Al Meera store to stay open 24/7, he added.

On its expansion plans, Al Qahtani said, Al Meera has nine malls currently under construction and a leased store under fit out.

"The construction of these malls and store's fit out will be completed this year. This will increase our store space by another 18,000 sq m.  A further 15 malls totaling approximately 32,500 sq m are under plan for construction within the next 2 to 5 years throughout Qatar," he revealed.

‘The strategy is to double the store space to over 100,000 sq m when all these malls become operational. All these new malls will be built to stringent international specifications and outfitted with the latest interior design and lighting system, and will have the “look and feel” similar to that of Lqutaifiya Mall’, he added.

On its key achievements, Al Qahtani said last year Al Meera had acquired five stores (3 hypermarkets and 2 supermarkets) in Oman. "The stores, with store space totaling approximately 15,400 sq m are located in Azaiba, Barka, Al Kuwair, Sohar and Al Falaj, of which, Azaiba (5,100 sq m) is the largest," he stated.

"The renovation and refurbishment of Azaiba was completed in November 2013 with plans to renovate another three stores this year to bring these stores to the same level of quality as the new Al Meera’s stores in Qatar," he added.

The group chairman said inorder to fund these projects, the Al Meera board has won approval from the investors to raise its capital from 10 million shares to 20 million shares through a rights issue.

The 10,000,000 shares were issued and called up at QR95 per share last March. The Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 140 per cent,’ he observed.

"Al Meera remains committed to delivering long-term strategy for growth, and with it, sustainable value for the shareholders, and at the same time, fulfilling its vision to be “The Favorite Neighborhood Retailer,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service