Qatar retail sector's World Cup gains seen to offset impact of Covid-19

Qatar’s retail industry’s “positive performance” during the World Cup could achieve a growth rate that could offset the impact of Covid-19 on the local market, an industry stakeholder has said.
According to Shareef BC, CEO of Grand Mall Hyper Markets Qatar, some of the indirect beneficiaries of Qatar’s successful hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup were sectors in the business community specialising in the production, distribution, and, service industries, among others.
To capitalise on the influx of millions of tourists and fans of the World Cup, Shareef said Grand Mall Hyper Markets Qatar launched several promos, including a year-long campaign titled ‘Let’s Football’, as well as cash prizes, among other initiatives.
In the wake of the World Cup, which concluded on Qatar National Day, Shareef said “a smaller decline in demand is natural.”
“But the basic economic situation prior to the World Cup still will be there and all retailers have their respective plans of action to retain business. To attract customers, there will still be overaggressive daily and weekend promotions and on different occasions to fill the gap. Retailers will also ensure prompt product availability and variety to attract more customers,” Shareef told Gulf Times.
Shareef also stressed that Grand Mall Hyper Markets Qatar was well-prepared for a larger customer footfall, especially from World Cup fans and other foreigners visiting the country.
“Like other retailers in the country, we also had done enough homework to meet the special demands expected during the World Cup. We always co-ordinated with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and suppliers during the preparatory period in terms of policies and other actions for ensuring that products are sufficient and delivered on time. Our external sourcing chains were also kept on alert to ensure that there are no gaps and buffer stocks were available. We also rented new warehouses and maintained optimum utilisation of existing facilities,” Shareef said.
He added: “To meet these demands, we even extended our operations to 24 hours. We opened new outlets at Barahat Al Junoob, exclusively for the FIFA international security and volunteers staying in the UCC accommodation based on the demand by the authorities.
“This outlet catered to people staying there who had no other option to source their needs, earning us the praise of concerned authorities. Our outlets at Asian Town, Barwa Affordable, and Mekaines were fan zones. Though there were some restrictions during match days, we also met the demands of customers there.”