Hanafy inaugurating the first LuLu Hypermarket in Cairo in the presence of Yusuffali and other delegates. LuLu Group is planning to open 10 hypermarkets Egypt in the next two years as part of its strategy to expand its global footprint.

LuLu Group is planning to invest $300mn in Egypt, where it will open 10 hypermarkets in next two years as part of its strategy to expand its global footprint.
This was announced at the opening of its first hypermarket in Egypt, the UAE- based group’s 119th hypermarket in the world.
The new store, located in Twin Plaza Opposite Police Academy on the Zakir Hussein road extension in the first settlement of New Cairo, was inaugurated by Khalid Hanafy, Egyptian Minister for Trade.
“As per the plan, we intend to invest $300mn in setting up 10 new hypermarkets in next two years across Egypt,” LuLu Group chairman M A Yusuffali said in the presence of Galal El Saeed, governor of Cairo; Mohamed Abdul Sayed, adviser to the Prime Minister; Khalifa Thunaiji, deputy UAE ambassador to Egypt and other high ranking government and civil officials.
Saifee T Rupawala, chief executive; Ashraf Ali MA, executive director; Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Egypt and other top company officials were also present on the occasion.
Highlighting that the hypermarket will also offer a window of opportunity to local community, Yusuffali said, “We will encourage the Egyptian agricultural sector by procuring and promoting local agricultural produce and also export them to our stores across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Far East.”
Currently LuLu is exporting Egyptian products worth 50mn Egyptian pounds and this will scale up to products worth 150mn Egyptian pounds next year, Yusuffali said, adding main exporting products include fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, cheese and pickles.
LuLu also plans to set up own food processing plants to further boost the exports, he said.
“We believe that having a strong national workforce is vital to our long-term success as it helps in creating sustainable community living. Currently, there are more than 800 Egyptians employed at our new hypermarket in Cairo and we intent to employ 10,000 more Egyptians in next two years,” he said.
The newly-opened hypermarket in Egypt has separate sections for fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, dairy products, ready-to-eat products and a live bakery. The outlet also offers a huge area dedicated to electronics, IT products, home appliances, sports, furnishing and furniture, kitchenware, toys, stationery and health and beauty products. It also offers a wide choice of world-class fashion brands and products for men, women and children.
A special area is also dedicated for promoting local products and handicrafts of Egypt.
LuLu Group, which currently has 118 stores across the GCC and India, is embarking on a massive expansion drive into the Far Eastern market. The first hypermarket of LuLu will open in Malaysia and Indonesia by March 2016. The group is also planning to open 15 more hypermarkets in these two countries in the next two years.