UAE retail giant Lulu Group expects up to 10 per cent revenue growth this year with plans to open new stores in the Gulf region as it moves forward with its initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
This week, Lulu Group revealed plans to list 25 per cent of its share capital on the Abu Dhabi bourse amid the continued economic momentum and listing boom in the Emirates.
The hypermarkets operator plans to float 2,582,226,338 shares with a nominal value of Dh0.051 ($0.014) each, it said on Monday. All shares offered through the public float are being sold by the company’s sole shareholder, Lulu International Holdings.
The company projects 8 to 10 per cent annual growth in revenue for this year, as it continues to grow its business, its chief financial officer Prasad KK told The National.
“The UAE is our main market and KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] is our growth market. We are growing across the two markets,” he said.
The company's revenue in the first half of this year rose 5.6 per cent to $3.9 billion, after it reported a 5.6 per cent annual increase in revenue last year to $7.3 billion.
The UAE accounts for 36 per cent of its total revenue, followed by Saudi Arabia at 19 per cent and Oman at 17 per cent, he added.
The company did not announce the price range or how much it plans to raise through the IPO but its chief executive Saifee Rupawala said there has been an “immense response” for the IPO from international as well as regional and local investors.
The subscription period for the public float will open on October 28 and will end on November 5 for retail, institutional and senior executive tranches.
The final offer price will be determined through a book-building process and Lulu Group expects its shares to begin trading on the ADX “on or around” November 14, according to a previous statement from Lulu.
The Abu Dhabi-based company, which had 240 stores as of August, plans to open an additional eight this year in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. It has opened 13 stores in the Emirates so far this year and aims to add about 19 outlets in 2025, mainly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“We have got a lot of opportunity to expand, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” Ashraf Ali, executive director of Lulu Group, told media in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“Saudi Arabia is the biggest market … so we have got a big room to develop there. We are only present in 14 cities. We have identified 33 cities to develop in Saudi Arabia even in the interior pockets and clusters and secondary cities.”
Saudi Arabia is diversifying its economy away from oil as part of its Vision 2030 programme and is focusing on attracting more foreign investment into the kingdom in sectors including retail, tourism, technology and property.
“When you look into the UAE perspective, there is a lot of development … a lot of migration is happening. We are already working with all our real estate developers that will expand our portfolio,” Mr Ali said.
No impact on prices
MA Yusuff Ali, chairman of Lulu, said the IPO will not have any impact on its retail pricing model and the group will continue to maintain competitive rates across it outlets.
The priority is the availability of products and “we want to bring the competitive price in good quality. Now we are doing that, so we hope that this will continue”, he said during the media briefing.
Lulu sources food products from 90 countries and will continue to “support our consumers” with an uninterrupted supply of goods, the chairman added.
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
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Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
MATCH INFO
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Porto (0) v Liverpool (2), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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Teaching in coronavirus times
Company%C2%A0profile
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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