Al Meera buys Omani retail chain assets
Doha, November 25, 2012
Al Meera Holding Company, a subsidiary of Qatar-based Al Meera Consumer Goods Company (owned 99 per cent by the company and 1 per cent by Al Meera Central Markets Company), and Al Meera Development Company have signed an agreement to purchase the business and assets of the ‘Safeer’ stores in Oman.
The Omani company operates hypermarkets and supermarkets in the Sultanate.
Under the agreement, Al Meera will take over operations of Safeer stores in December with renovations and refurnishing scheduled to start immediately to ensure all the stores are rebranded to ‘Al Meera’ in the first quarter of 2013.
The purchase includes three super markets and two 5,000 sq m hypermarkets. A total of five stores will be operated, two of which are located in the capital, Muscat, said a senior official.
“This purchase gives us a strong foothold in the lucrative Omani market, and we will see more stores opening in the country in the future,” explained Dr Mohammed Nasser Al Qahtani, the deputy chief executive officer of Al Meera.
“We have already begun seeking out properties for new stores, and promise to translate our mission of becoming the ‘neighbourhood’s favourite retailer’ to our Omani business,” he stated.
"Al Meera and its Omani partner National Investment Funds Company (Nifco will within days complete the incorporation of Al Meera Oman and Al Meera Market in Oman to manage the Safeer stores, and any other purchases made in the future," said the official.
Dr. Al Qahtani said, “With our Omani operations, the Al Meera brand is now international, as promised in the October Extraordinary General Meeting.”
“Oman is only our first solid foray into markets outside of Qatar – and we aspire to leave a mark on the international markets in the near future,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service
