Retail major Lulu Hyper to set up shop in Kerala

West Asian retail major Lulu Hypermarket is set to enter the country's retail market with its largest store spread over 1.8 lakh sqft in Kerala. The Lulu outlet proposed at Kochi will be the first store of the retail chain promoted by the UAE -based Emke Group, in India.

Currently, the K Raheja Corporation Group promoted HyperCity is the largest hypermarket in the country which spread across a total area of about 1 lakh sq ft. "We were looking at India and now is the right time to enter this market with the booming economy and positive government policies,"said Yusuffali MA, managing director, Emke Group. The group plans to spread across Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad soon after its first store in Kerala.

Lulu Hypermarket owned by the UAE's Emke Group had last month opened a 60,000 sq ft outlet in Aden. The Aden outlet was the 51st store of the retail chain in West Asia. However,the Emke Group's total investment in the Indian retail venture is not known.

Entering the subcontinent for the first time, this retail giant is expected to pose a stiff competition to the existing players Pantaloon and Shoppers' Stop.

The Emke Group had been an instant hit with the discerning customers in the UAE. With its pleasant and novel variation from the usual supermarkets, Hypermarket offered a modern shopping ambience providing the customers with comforts and luxury of shopping.

By integrating all the conceivable needs of the consumers under one roof, its Hypermarkets have extensively laid out counters, sprawling parking space, play area for children, food court, money exchange centres and bank counters besides a panoply of international and regional brands.

"Beyond a normal shopping concept, we are now catering to the divergent needs of the shoppers and transforms shopping into a pleasurable outdoor activity underlining once again the group's commitment to offer the customer only the best," adds Yusuffali.

Poised on the success of the pioneer Hypermarket at Al Qusais - Dubai, the chain has currently spread its wings across the UAE, with Fujairah outlet in full swing, and extending to other countries beginning with Qatar and Kuwait.