French retailer Group Casino, together with Retail Arabia, has joined hands with Al Meera to develop and operate hypermarkets and supermarkets under the Géant, Géant easy brands in Qatar and Oman.

The partnership will strengthen the Géant hypermarket, Géant easy supermarket brands’ overall presence in GCC countries, said a statement.

Retail Arabia currently operates 10 stores across the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain with aggressive plans to expand.

This franchise agreement comes close on the heels of a supply agreement signed with Al Meera earlier in 2011 which granted Al Meera the right to exclusively sell Casino-branded products in Qatar. Building on this Al Meera is now all set to launch both the brands across Qatar and Oman to offer customers quality products at the lowest prices plus the convenience of one stop shopping for all their needs, said the statement.

Arif Shaikh, director of Retail Arabia, said: “Our decision to extend the franchise agreement to Al Meera was based on the tremendous potential we see for retailing in Qatar and Oman and we look forward to the expansion of the Géant and Géant easy brands in these two countries. This will strengthen the brands in the GCC and give us economies of scale with suppliers to negotiate good deals and prices to ensure our customers get maximum value.”

Patrick Lasfargues, business partnerships director at Group Casino, said: “We are delighted to be bring the Géant and Géant easy brands to Qatar and Oman for the first time and we see this as a start of a great partnership.”

Guy Sauvage, CEO of Al Meera, said: “Al Meera is committed to bringing world class retailers and unique concepts to Qatar and Oman, offering residents in our communities the best possible choice.” – TradeArabia News Service