Prominent retail major LuLu Group opened its much-awaited Al Khor Mall yesterday.The new mall, spread over 375,000 sq m on three floors, features a 200,000-plus sq ft hypermarket and several other outlets.
Prominent Qatari entrepreneur Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani inaugurates LuLu Group’s Al Khor Mall as EMKE group’s managing director Yusuffali M A, regional director (Qatar) Mohamed Althaf and others look on
Prominent Qatari entrepreneur Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani cut a ribbon to inaugurate the mall.
The event was attended by a large number of people.
The Al Khor Mall is located along the Doha-Al Khor road, about 600m from the fastest growing northern municipal town. The mall has parking space for more than 1,000 vehicles, according to the promoters.
“Shopping experience for the residents of Al Khor and its fast growing surroundings will never be the same as we open our 104th store overall and the fifth in Qatar, which has been continuously patronising our group for more than a decade,” said Yusuffali M A, managing director of Emke Group, which runs the LuLu Group.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered Emke Group has retail outlets throughout the GCC states, Yemen, Egypt and Vietnam.
“It is with immense joy, pride and pleasure that we are starting our operations in Al Khor. The occasion is special for us as we have just crossed a major milestone of two decades of operations in retailing in the GCC region,” Yusuffali, a prominent non-resident Indian entrepreneur, said.
He said in the last two decades, his group has earned the trust and respect of its customers by providing them an unparalleled and world-class shopping experience.
Yusuffali and Sheikh Abdulla take a tour of the new mall
Yusuffali praised HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and the Qatari government for facilitating a good environment for running businesses.
The Emke Group managing director said their business chain has some ambitious plans for the country in the coming days.
“It is HH the Emir’s extremely business-friendly and liberalised policies that have helped attract substantial investments to Qatar,” he said.
The huge mall in Al Khor will cater to the growing consumer demand from people for fresh vegetables and fruits to hot food, bakery, grocery, fashion apparels, electronics and home appliances. There are a number of exclusive outlets and counters for jewellery, perfumes, watches and cosmetics.
In Qatar, the LuLu Group also runs hypermarkets on D-Ring Road and Al Gharafa, LuLu Department Sores on Rayyan Road and LuLu Express, a convenience store on Qatar Foundation campus.
The group officials later said their hypermarkets and other stores across the region together record a whopping footfall close to 500,000 a day.
“The sheer numbers make LuLu Group the most preferred shopping destination for the diverse and multi-ethnic shoppers in the GCC region,” they said.
Hundreds of shoppers thronged mall on the opening day. The huge complex also features a multiplex and a vast food court, consisting of a large number of international, regional and national brands.
Only the hypermarket is open now. The other outlets in the mall will be ready by next month, sources said.
A company official said yesterday’s was only a soft-opening and a major event will be held probably in the first week of October.
Outlet at Barwa City soon: official
By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter
The LuLu Group will launch an outlet at Barwa City in Abu Hamour later this year, a senior official said yesterday.
Arrangements are being made to ensure that the department store starts functioning in the Barwa City soon, the company’s regional director Mohamed Althaf said.
Already, LuLu Group has reached an agreement with the management of Barwa Real Estate Group to start its outlets in many of the company’s upcoming projects across the country.
However, Althaf did not say what kind of outlet their company plans to start in Barwa City.
The Barwa City, which has close to 5,500 residential units, is expected to have more than 25,000 residents starting this month, according to sources. The city was formally opened in May.
“The responses and acceptance that we have been getting from the country’s residents are encouraging and we will continue with our growth plans in Qatar,” Althaf said.
He said their company will soon announce new projects being developed in Qatar in the run-up to the 2022 Fifa World Cup and other developments in the country.