Middle East retail major LuLu Group opened its newest hypermarket in Riyadh, further boosting its retail presence in Saudi Arabia, a report said.

The 112th Lulu Hypermarket was inaugurated by Prince Saud bin Abdullah in the presence of Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao, Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Saud, LuLu Group managing director Yusuffali MA, Saudi-India Joint Business Council chairman Kamel S Al Munajjed, LuLu Group chief executive Saifee T Rupawala, executive director Asharaf Ali MA and regional director Shehim Mohammed, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Prominent businessmen, government and municipality officials and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

The new store is located at exit-30 Khurais road.

The 240,000-sq-ft hypermarket will showcase a fresh food section comprising fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish and hot and cold ready-to-eat food.

It also has a huge area dedicated to department store items such as electronics, IT products, home appliances, sports, stationery, furnishings and furniture and fashion brands for ladies, gents and kids, and 40 cash counters to ensure hassle- free shopping experience for shoppers.

This hypermarket is expected to become the shopping destination of choice for the residents of Riyadh.

In addition, and in true tradition of LuLu stores across the Gulf, the hypermarket will feature the widest choice of world-class brands at the fairest prices and also offers a whole world of shopping with a good selection of brands and product lines under one roof.

LuLu's winning formula of value for money quality shopping will be a matter of delight for the residents of Riyadh who will cherish the pleasurable shopping experience and the economy it offers.

The hypermarket also houses Sparkys, the Darbar Restaurant, coffee shops, shops and oud, perfumes, watches, mobiles, gifts and accessories shops apart from ATMs, money exchange and pharmacy.

"We are very clear in our approach to expansion. I am very confident about the economic situation of Saudi Arabia and have full trust in the visions of the country's leader King Abdullah and we are fully committed to continue our forward march in the region," said Yusuffali.

LuLu will open eight more hypermarkets in different parts of the kingdom during the next 24 months, he added.

LuLu Hypermarkets, which employ close to 32, 000 people in its various operations, has a very clear human resource development policy especially when it comes to providing training and job opportunities to the Saudi youth.

It employs Saudis in almost all categories and are also regularly sent to other countries for better training and growth prospects.

"Providing job opportunities to local youth is one of our core areas of focus and we will continue to recruit more nationals into our operations in different categories from front line sales staff to technical and managerial positions," Yusuffali said.

"With the recession becoming a thing of past, we see tremendous development taking place in Gulf economies and we intend to play our part in the growth process," he added. – TradeArabia News Service