LuLu Department Store in Cakung, East Jakarta.(JP/Arief Suhardiman)

LuLu Group will invest US$500 million in the next three years to open 10 hypermarket and department stores

UAE-based major retailer LuLu Group, which opened its first hypermarket and department store in the capital city of Jakarta last year, is planning to invest US$500 million as part of its expansion and intends to set up 10 hypermarket and department stores in the next three years in the country.

 The first LuLu Hypermarket and Department store in the country, which was officially inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has fast become a highly popular shopping destination for residents in and around East Jakarta thanks to its high-quality products, vast product range and competitive pricing.

“With an initial investment of $300 million in the first phase, we plan to open 10 hypermarket and department stores by the end of 2018 and a central logistics and warehousing facility in Jakarta. These projects are likely to generate more than 5,000 job opportunities for Indonesians,” said Yusuf Ali MA, chairman of LuLu Group, explaining the company’s expansion plans in the country.

“We also plan to set up contract farming to ensure continuous supply of high-quality products and to support the Indonesian agriculture sector,” he added.

During his official visit to the UAE in September 2015, President Jokowi visited LuLu hypermarket in Abu Dhabi and expressed a keen desire to have LuLu in Indonesia. He was especially impressed by the high standard of operations, quality and variety of products, and service available at LuLu.

The LuLu store at Cakung is situated in the center of East Jakarta’s prime residential area at Taman Modern Plaza, on Jl. Raya Bekasi KM 24, a busy road to the populous Bekasi region.

LuLu is located on a 30,000 square-meter area of land with a vast parking area in front and around the store, with the store size of 18,000 square meters spread onto two floors.

The ground floor has LuLu’s unique supermarket and many F&B and service facilities, and the first floor has a first-class department store, electronics and home section along with a kids entertainment section and many other services to cater to LuLu’s customers.

One unique aspect at LuLu is its fresh fruits and vegetables farm that is sourced locally, as well as from all around the world through the group’s own sourcing subsidiaries, to serve its customers from all income brackets at very competitive prices.

LuLu’s roastery, one of its kind in town, serves 100-plus varieties of nuts, pulses, spices, and many more. LuLu’s freshly-baked oven bakery products prepared in a well-equipped and world-class hygienic atmosphere, has also become talk of the town now.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center) tours the first LuLu Hypermarket and Department Store in Cakung, East Jakarta, during its inauguration along with then trade minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong (behind, center), LuLu Group chairman Yusuf Ali MA (right), alongside other top officials and dignitaries.(Courtesy of Lulu hypermarket)

Ready-to-eat counters at LuLu’s hot food section has won the hearts of customers of all ethnic backgrounds, with mouth-watering dishes from six-plus countries. Biriyani, shawarmah, khuboos, arabic sweets, various Indian rotis, snacks and sweets, sushi, spaghetti, pizza, and many more deli, salad and juice varieties just to name a few alongside a wide variety of Indonesian traditional dishes can be found there.

LuLu’s butcher serves the town’s best and most affordable quality meat and poultry. The seafood counter at LuLu has already become the preferred daily shopping destination for residents because of its fresh but low-priced varieties of fish available at Lulu, which has been directly sourced from the sea and freshwater locations, including live fish as well as dry fish varieties.

LuLu’s Department Store—The LuLu Fashion Store, is a perfect and convenient shopping place for males, females and kids for their choice of cosmetics, perfume, apparel, bags, accessories, footwear, luggage, home decor, toys and sporting equipment.

The Electronic Store at LuLu—LuLu Connect, sells all the latest electronics, appliances and gadgets to its customers at competitive prices.

The LuLu Group currently operates 132 stores across the GCC, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Malaysia and employs more than 40,000 people from different nationalities and is also one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East.

Highlights

* LuLu Hypermarket and Department Store, Cakung, Jakarta, is the group’s 126th retail store

* This is the first hypermarket and department store of the group in Indonesia, which is also one of the biggest in the country in terms of retail space.

* Upcoming hypermarket and department stores to open in Indonesia include in cities of Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi, Depok, Bandung, Solo, Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bali, Makasar.

* To invest US$500 million in Indonesia as part of the group’s expansion plan.

* To employ 5,000 Indonesians in the next three years.