 ENOC Retail, a division of Emirates national Oil Company, has become the latest in a long line of businesses expanding their retail presence in the UAE as the sector continues to rapidly expand this year.
The Dubai Government-owned oil and gas group has announced plans toroll out a significant number of retail brands across the Emirates, includingits Zoom convenience-stores, a number of italian food and coffee concepts, aswell as its Thai restaurant, LemonGrass. "We want to share our expertiseby franchising the successful retail concepts and reach out to a wider audiencein the GCC," said Saeed Abdullah Khoory, chief executive at Enoc. Retailers throughout the country have reported a bustling trade so farthis year, with many enjoying growth rates of 20 per cent in sales compared tolast year. This strong growth has prompted many retailers to invest in newstores, expanding in malls across the country, particularly in Abu Dhabi whichhas swathes of new retail space. Apple was the latest company to throw their name in the retail hatthis week when they launched an online store in the Emirates on Monday 19th Sep.All the major supermarkets, such as Carrefour, Lulu and Geant, areexpanding stores across the Gulf and UAE, particularly in the local retailspace. Big fashion houses, such as Landmark Group and Allied Enterprises,have also announced the expansion of stores. Enoc Retail operates a network of 170 Enoc and Eppco service stationsin Dubai and the Northern Emirates and services 600,000 customers each week. It will offer franchises for all its retail outlets, which include itsPronto fresh food and gourmet coffee concept, Saquella Esspresso Club, anItalian Café concept founded in 1856, and Esspresse, its latest fresh andhealthy Italian fast food. Under a new franchising scheme, Enoc Retail will provide anyfranchisee with training, supervisory support for the ongoing programme andmarketing support. PetrolWorld 200911 Source:National |
