LuLu Hypermarket opened on Monday its 33rd Saudi outlet in the historic city of Hafar Al-Batin in the Eastern Province. The store is spread across one level of more than 120,000 square feet in Al-Othaim Mall and promises to be a shoppers’ delight, complete with all the popular LuLu shopping touch-points such as grocery, fresh fruit and vegetables, and fashion.
Prince Mansour bin Mohammed bin Saad Al-Saud, governor of Hafar Al-Batin region, inaugurated the store in the presence of Khalaf Hamdan Al-Otaibi, mayor of Hafar Al-Batin. The chief guests were welcomed by Yusuff Ali M.A., chairman and managing director of Lulu Group International, and senior management.
Ali thanked the Saudi leadership — King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif.
“The Saudi leadership is building a strong economic environment in the Kingdom for investors and citizens to thrive and prosper,” Ali said.
“LuLu Group’s new hypermarket in the Eastern Province underscores our efforts to keep pace with the rapid urban expansion of Saudi Arabia, where more and more cities and districts are increasing facilities and see the community as the heart of the Kingdom’s progress.”
The chairman said that LuLu Group was working toward consolidating Saudization in its company and pledged to employ 10,000 Saudi nationals by the end of 2025. The 33 LuLu stores in the Kingdom presently employ 4,000 Saudi nationals, of which 1,500 are women.
The new hypermarket will stock an abundant range of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood from around the world, have an in-house bakery serving freshly baked breads and cakes, as well as shopping options that tap into new dietary trends. These include a wide selection of plant-based meat substitutes and foods, organic and superfood selections and an extensive “free-from” range varieties.
The store also includes popular LuLu shopping stations such as LuLu Fashion, the electronics section LuLu Connect, the beauty and cosmetics division BLSH and optical and eyewear section, EyeExpress
A special feature of the new store will be the focus on food products grown and produced in Saudi Arabia — farmed fish, the best cuts of locally slaughtered lamb and beef in the meat section, Saudi coffee, Saudi-grown fruit and vegetables as well as foods made in the Kingdom.
Savvy shoppers can also track and save on shopping by opting for financial payment tools such as Tabby and Qaura, which offer easy installment payment schemes. They can also pay through banks that offer installments at zero percent.
The Hafar Al-Batin store will also offer shoppers the environmentally-sound and technologically advanced service of an e-receipt for every purchase, which will be sent as an SMS to the shopper’s phone upon payment at the checkout counter. The store offers quick and convenient shopping with 26 checkout counters and 2,500 car parking spaces.
An eye-catching element of the opening ceremony was the use of Saudi Arabia’s traditional Sadu weaving patterns as in-store decor and the live demonstration of the classical art by skilled Saudi women.
Also present at the inauguration were Director of LuLu Hypermarket Saudi Arabia Shehim Muhammed, Regional Director of LuLu Eastern Province Moiz Nuruddin and other senior officials.