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UAE jobs: Thousands of vacancies to open as Lulu plans to expand across outskirts of major cities
Lulu revealed in its IPO prospectus last year that a hypermarket employs on average approximately 290 employees, 55 in express store and three per mini market
The UAE-based Lulu Retail group will expand into outskirts of major cities in the Emirates as the population grows out of downtown and crowded areas, senior officials said.
These new outlets will create hundreds — if not thousands — of new jobs across the retail sector in UAE.
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“Fifteen new projects are coming in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. The population is growing from towns to outskirts in all the major cities of the UAE, therefore, we are exploring those areas. Whether it will be a hypermarket or an express store, it will depend on the density of the population of those areas,” said Yusuffali MA, founder of Lulu Group.
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The population of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other major cities in the country has grown exponentially due to the arrival of a large number of foreign workers. Due to high rents in downtowns and central districts of the cities, many residents prefer outskirt areas to beat rentals and traffic.
Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu Retail, said with the growth in population in the UAE, the group is getting great opportunities to grow here.
“We are in discussion with several developers. We thank the main developers who have considered us as a cornerstone and they have given us the opportunity and put trust in us to have Lulu everywhere in the UAE. We have 30 projects under discussion in the UAE, but not yet finalised,” he said.
Saudi plans
Rupawala elaborated that the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been the focus markets for the retailer.
“We are pan-GCC number one retailer, so we need to grow in Saudi Arabia. We are going to tier 1 and 2 cities. Depending on the demographic and density of the population, we will decide the size of Lulu outlets. We have 37 more stores coming up in Saudi Arabia. We aim to open 100 stores in the medium term by 2028 in Saudi Arabia. Our penetration is limited there as we have a presence in only 16 cities and there is immense room to grow. As a group, we have identified 31 cities over there as Vision 2030 is to have more organised retail in the country,” Rupawala told Khaleej Times in an interview.
The Abu Dhabi-based retail major recently opened outlets in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah as it expands its footprint in the largest Gulf economy.
Jobs in Lulu
All these new stores across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries will create a large number of jobs by Abu Dhabi-listed Lulu Retail.
In terms of job creation, Lulu's CEO said every store has its own requirements, depending on the size.
Lulu revealed in its IPO prospectus last year that a hypermarket employs on average approximately 290 employees, 55 in express store and three per mini market.
At the end of June 30, 2024, the group employed approximately 55,000 full-time employees.
“It’s exciting times as the UAE and GCC region is growing. Kuwait is also coming up with new towns and we have identified two towns where we will be the first to go,” Rupawala said on the sidelines of the opening of Lulu’s branch in Al Satwa, Dubai. It was the 23rd store since the company went public last year.
The new hypermarket is the 252nd store of Lulu in GCC. More additional stores are set to open soon in key areas including Al Jaddaf, JLT, Nad Al Hammar, Dubai Expo City, Khorfakhan, and Oud Al Mutina.
Waheed Abbas
Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.
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