EMKE Group yesterday opened its 89th LuLu Hypermarket in Riyadh as part of opening 100 stores and consolidating its retail dominance in the region.The new outlet, which is located at the Riyadh Avenue Mall, is the second in the city and was opened by HH Prince Saud bin Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz.The opening was done in the presence of Talmiz Ahmad, India’s Ambassador to the Kingdom as well as MD Mallya, chairman of Bank of Baroda, one of India’s leading public sector banks; Ashok Gupta, CEO for GCC, Bank of Baroda; Yusuff Ali MA, managing director of LuLu and government, municipality officials and other dignitaries.Spanning an area of more than 1mn sqft, the mall also boasts of a parking capacity for more than 1,200 cars. Expecting to become a major player in Saudi Arabia’s retail sector, EMKE Group is already working on new projects in other parts of the country.“We are very clear in our approach to expansion. Three years back, we had finalised our target of reaching 100 stores and we are firmly on track to achieve that,” Yusuff Ali said.The hypermarket will showcase the fresh food section comprising fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish and hot and cold ready-to-eat food. It also has a huge area dedicated to department store items such as electronics, IT products, home appliances, sports, stationery, furnishings and furniture and fashion brands for ladies, gents and kids, the spokesman said while highlighting 40 cash counters to ensure hassle free shopping experience for shoppers.“Providing job opportunities to local youth is one of our core focus areas and we will continue to recruit more nationals into our operations in different categories from frontline sales staff to technical and managerial positions,” Yusuff Ali said.