LuLu Hypermarket, the leading retailer in the region, has been named among the most powerful retailers in the world.
The latest ‘Global Power of Retailing 2021’ list by international consultancy firm, Deloitte, which ranks the world’s 250 most powerful retailers, includes UAE-based retail giant, LuLu Hypermarket.
LuLu Group, which operates hypermarkets and superstores across 10 countries, posted US$7.4 billion revenues in the financial year ending 2019, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent. The Group has 210 retail outlets across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as in Egypt, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The ‘Global Power of Retailing 2021’ list is led by US giants, with Wal-Mart Stores at No.1 followed by Amazon, Costco Wholesale Corp., Schwarz Group, and The Kroger Co. among others. The total aggregate retail revenue generated by the world’s top 250 retailers amounted to $4.85 trillion, a 4.4 percent composite year-over-year retail revenue growth.
The report also highlights some of the key impacts of COVID-19 on leading global retailers, including essential versus non-essential retail, reduced demand, enforced store closure, travel bans and other preventive measures introduced by governments. On the other hand, online retailers have benefited from increased consumer aversion to in-store shopping due to the pandemic crisis.
However, leading retailers were able to capitalize on the new consumer opportunities presented by the pandemic, particularly online shopping and delivery and were able to continue trading from their stores. Since the start of the pandemic, LuLu Group has opened 26 new hypermarkets and supermarkets, including four e-commerce fulfillment centers across the region.
Commenting on the Group’s immediate future plans, Chairman of Lulu Group, Yusuffali MA, said: “No doubt, these are very challenging times and we had to delay our expansion plans last year due to lock-downs and COVID-19 restrictions, but now we are fully back on track to open 30 new hypermarkets and 10 e-commerce fulfillment centers in the GCC, Egypt and Far-East by the end of this year. The upcoming Dubai EXPO 2020 coupled with a fast-improving health and safety situation is sure to boost the market sentiments sooner rather than later.”