Luring with retail extravaganza

In 1966 EMKE Group started off as a small trading centre in Abu Dhabi. Slowly it got into import and distribution of frozen food products from Europe and the US and started to distribute the supplies not only in and around Abu Dhabi but also to farther interior areas of the Emirates. Slowly the business started to pick up and the group expanded to include bigger range of products in both food & non-food categories. Describing how this growth track was carved, Mr Yusuffali MA, Managing Director - EMKE Group, says “We went on to start cold stores, meat & food processing plants, large scale import and distribution to big hotel groups, catering companies, ships chandleries, etc. By 80s EMKE had sizeable share of the wholesale and retail food market with operations that covered the entire UAE. The expansion After the success in the wholesale and distribution market, EMKE ventured into the retail sector with the opening of its first supermarket in Abu Dhabi. It was the time when the economy had started to boom with the oil revenue taking the centre stage. The visionary founder of the UAE, late HH Sheikh Zayed was spearheading the “march to future” of this great country with many significant projects and initiatives, and lots of people from all over the world had started to come in. The time was right to enter into the supermarket business. The next step was diversifying into department stores. This actually happened in the height of the Gulf War and people were bit skeptic of investing into new business here. “I was clear in my thinking and strong determination made sure that I went ahead with my plans and by god’s grace we never had to look back”, comments Mr Yusuffali. The big leap “After firmly establishing ourselves in the supermarkets & department store segment, we were quite keen to venture into the bigger format of hypermarkets and in 2000 we opened our first Lulu Hypermarket in Dubai. This really was the turning point for the group and we soon expanded into new markets with bigger and better hypermarkets in all major cities of the Gulf. Today we have 83 stores of different sizes catering to more than 415,000 people every day”, informs Mr Yusuffali. From supermarkets to department stores to hypermarkets, well the next logical step was to get into shopping malls and mixed use projects. Line Investments & Property LLC was started in 2004 to spearhead EMKE’s entry into this segment and in its first 3 years of operation itself it launched 5 malls in different Gulf cities and will be opening 7 more by the end 2010. Year 2011 will mark the group’s maiden entry into the Indian retail market by unveiling the biggest mall of the country in Kochi. The 2.5 million sq ft mixed use project ‘Lulu Shopping Mall’ will house twin commercial towers, a 5 star Marriott hotel apart from other mall features of international standard. “This is my dream project for my home country,” declares Mr Yusuffali. Strategy for the Indian market Today the Lulu chain controls 32 per cent of the organised retail market in the Middle East with an annual turnover in excess of US$ 3.5 billion. Mr Yusuffali points out the inherent traits of the two markets: “Though we are predominantly a Middle East based operator, but because of the unique population mix (a large number of expats from all around the world), we are basically following the best international practices to cater to different tastes. Also the fact that the shoppers here are exposed to a very high standard of quality and service, we have to be on our toes and keep innovating and improving always. Though geographically the countries here are smaller compared to India, the retail sector is very vibrant with almost all top international brands being present here and also the fact that the Government here is promoting retail and tourism in a big way to make Dubai the shopping hub of the world. Also the fact that the spending capacity of the residents here are much higher than India has played a big role in the rapid expansion of various malls and hypermarkets. Having said this I must say today’s Indian shoppers are equally market savvy and love to splurge on brands and high quality stuff (majority of our shoppers here are still the Indians); so whatever we do in India, it will be at par with anywhere in the world.” Kerala the preferred location For Mr Yusuffali the reason is obvious. “We are basically from Kerala and I always had a dream to do something big for my home town. And Keralites, being the single biggest expat community in the Gulf countries, are already closely connected with the Lulu brand and this will give us a huge head start. Geographically, Kochi lies in the centre of Kerala and is as such considered as the business and leisure hub of south with many major infrastructure and tourism projects taking shape. Also the fact that it is very well connected by air, sea, rail and road is a big advantage for us to cater to both residents and tourists alike”, he explains Targeted segment Talking about the catchment area and target audience of this flagship mall, Mr Yusuffali says, “Kerala being a much smaller state is considered today as a one big city and because of our strong brand loyalty and unique features we expect the catchment area to be entire Kerala and even some parts of neighboring states. We intent to be the “must visit” destination, as Kerala is a big time tour destination for both national and international travellers. For our hypermarkets, primary catchment areas will be the entire Greater Cochin area and nearby townships.” The floor plan The mall is ground plus 3 levels well connected by escalators, travelators and lifts to provide easy movement of customers. Also to facilitate traffic to all sides of the mall, the anchor tenants are placed at each corners of the shopping area. The mall is anchored by Lulu Hypermarket, Lulu Departmental Store, Lulu Wedding Collections, Westside, PVR and family entertainment centres. The ground floor will have a leasing mix of gold, diamonds, luxury watches, perfumes, cosmetics, men and women international and ethnic fashion wear, saris and silk. The first floor will have a mix of men’s fashion, ladies fashion, unisex brands, casuals, denims, footwear, travel and fashion accessories. The second floor will have a mix of electronics, books, music, home furnishing, sportswear, kids, health & beauty and ladies fashion. The third floor will have a mix of amusement, dining and leisure. The mall will have a 50000 sq ft food court with seating facility for 2000 people with 18 multi cuisine kitchens. Parking space with unique features “The parking can accommodate 3000 vehicles. We have signed a deal with a German operator with varied experience in operating shopping malls around the world. Special importance is given in the ingress and egress of traffic outside the mall. Also, we are keeping in mind the convenience of the customers by ensuring that a customer is spending minimum time while entering and exiting the mall. The operations of the car park will be managed by a third party”, informs Mr Yusuffali. Mall management A developer’s prime motive should be to promote the mall as a destination point and this will ensure footfalls and conversion to the mall. Lulu team with its experience of managing 6 operational malls and 83 hypermarkets will create benchmarks in this field. Seamless operations will be achieved by using technology which will ensure fast transfer of information and also it will help them taking inputs from two of their customers - retailers and shoppers. Mall management constitutes of tenant management, which includes the departments of leasing, retail relations, finance and legal; mall marketing, which covers the areas of events and promotions, space selling, and PR & brand management; facility management, which takes care of engineering, soft services (ie, housekeeping, pest control, horticulture, customer service, audits, etc.); parking management; security and safety; and architectural. “For the sake of organised retail development, there should be collaborations between retailers and mall developers in the areas like commercials and terms, promotional events, mall operations and information sharing”, comments Mr Yusuffali. A mall’s success is best represented by the success of retailers, so a retailer should work on better store sizes, standardisation of store operations, training and better VM marketing techniques, he opines. Retailers retention How to make sure that retailers are doing good business, the primary factor that bonds a developer with a retailer? How Lulu is working on this? Answering these questions, Mr Yusuffali says, “We are inviting brands who have proven background in the business of retailing, and advise on the store size correction, according to what the category can afford. We are working on a model which is fixed minimum guarantee and revenue share deal and the term offered is after taking into consideration their break even period. We have created a tenant mix and are leasing spaces according to the planned cluster. The commercials are on the carpet area occupied by the retailer, thereby reducing the inefficiency.” The mall promotion “Lulu will celebrate five major events, that is, Vishu in April; kids’ events (holidays and back to school) in May and June, Onam, Ramzan and Sale in August-September; Christmas and New Year in December, and Sale in February-March”, informs Mr Yusuffali. On the other hand mall will promote the location as a destination for Food, Fashion, Fun and Films. Lulu has given special importance to the customer satisfaction of the shoppers so that they always say “I will be back”. There will be a lot of offers and on spot gratification offers on shopping. On top of this the mall will do a loyalty program for all its regular customers. There will be special activities conducted on every weekend. Expansion in India How does he see the future of Lulu Shopping Mall in India? Is any big expansion plan in store? Mr Yusuffali sounds strategic in this aspect, “As this is our first retail venture in India, we are not impatient to grab the market and start operations in many centers. We would rather launch this project properly and then look at other locations both in South India as well in other big and medium metros of India. But Kerala and South India would be our primary targets.” Amenities provided by Lulu • Interactive Information Kiosk • ATM • Valet Parking • Touch Screens • Wi-Fi • Baby Care Room • Doctor on Call • Ambulance and • First Aid • Electrical Scooters for patrolling the mall • Wheelchairs • Mobile Charging Stations • Mechanic/ Key Maker on call • Hi-tech Security with CCTV and Sensor based footfall cameras • Lost and Found • Spacious-basement Car Park for approx 3000 vehicles • Driver’s Lounge • Car Calling Station • Car Spa • Cool Cab on call • Florist • Gift wrapping • Forex • Newspaper Stands • Prayer Room Special features of the parking space • Automated Car Park • Info boards to facilitate the info of parking availability • Dedicated car parks for handicapped and pregnant women • Parking designed for faster entry and faster exit • High standards of security and safety

Stay on top – Get the daily news from Indian Retailer in your inbox