The talks between Singh and Yusuff prior to the prime minister’s departure from Riyadh on Monday primarily focused on business opportunities for Indian businessmen in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries with special reference to Emke Group’s expansion plan in this region.

“Our presence in the retail sector delivering consumer products has given us a competitive edge in understanding consumer needs in this region because of the long-term experience,” Yusuff added. Emke Group, he said, operates with a firm philosophy of “right products in the right place at the right time.” The Group operates popular brands of retail chain stores that include the renowned Lulu chain of supermarkets, department stores, hypermarkets and now shopping malls in Saudi Arabia and many other countries.

In the UAE, Al-Falah Plaza and Emirates General Market are other popular retail chains operated by Emke Group. Emke Group’s retail chains cater to over 500,000 customers everyday and enjoy over 32 percent of the total retail market share within the GCC, said Yusuff. With the opening of forthcoming stores and malls the group’s market share is sure to increase, he added. Ranked as one of the biggest Indian-owned conglomerates in the Gulf, the group’s employee profile also offers a snapshot of multi-ethnicity, employing more than 25,000 people from over 29 countries. 

Another important project implemented by Emke Group is the Riyadh Avenue Project, which is a mixed-use project consisting of a Lulu Hypermarket, shopping avenue & office towers. Located on the south of Olaya in the city, the location is unique and very important from a business angle since the location is deemed the axle of the road network of Riyadh city. In fact, the number of the cars passing this road in the Saudi capital every day exceeds 500,000.

This project in Riyadh will have seven levels with two levels of shopping and two towers above with five levels of offices. The total leasable area is about 40,000-square-meter with a basement car parks for 1000 cars. The tower will have an ultra modern 200,000 square feet Lulu Hypermarket. It will also house an excellent mix of fashion stores along with a food court, areas for fine dining, coffee shops and also entertainment area for kids Reviewing the current market scenario, he said that the slowdown has had little impact on the retail sector especially the hypermarket and supermarket segment.

“Whatever slowdown you call it... it is behind us, and business is as usual,” he commented.  The chain has not witnessed any discouraging signs as sales and revenue targets have been met so far. The group recorded an annual sales turnover of $2.57 billion for 2008, against $1.98 billion in previous year.

Referring to the expansion plan, he said that the new expansion includes India, where a biggest shopping mall is being built in Cochin in the southern state of Kerala. In North Africa’s largest economy of Egypt, the first outlet would be rolled-out to customers by mid-2010. This is in addition to several plans and projects to be implemented in various countries within the next five years.