No immediate plan to close UAE's Carrefour supermarkets, Majid Al Futtaim says

Decision to shut shops across Gulf was Dubai-based operator's call, not the French brand

Carrefour in Dubai's Mall Of The Emirates is said to be the Middle East's largest supermarket. Antonie Robertson / The National

There are no immediate plans to replace Carrefour supermarkets in the UAE, following closures in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan, the Dubai-based operator of the retail chain has said.

The decision to go ahead with the closures in the four markets was taken by Majid Al Futtaim, its retail division chief executive Gunther Helm told Dubai Eye's Business Breakfast programme on Thursday.

“We are evaluating always the customer needs and the customer behaviour and so in the markets [Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Jordan] … we decided to move away,” he said. There was a “challenging environment for retailers in those areas”, he added.

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“In the UAE, there is, at the moment, no plan to do so,” Mr Helm added. “It's not a financial decision. It's really about listening to the needs of the customers, and to what is the right format we're offering.”

Majid Al Futtaim has introduced its own grocery brand, HyperMax, at all the sites where Carrefour closed.

“With HyperMax, we are using the opportunity to really reconnect with the customers even more, to come up with a very local approach,” Mr Helm said.

Majid Al Futtaim is growing the portfolio of its HyperMax shops, with six more locations announced in Bahrain, adding to 44 in Jordan and Oman. The plan with HyperMax is to support local supply chains, it said.

The response so far to HyperMax from customers has been “overwhelming”, Mr Helm said.

“So we're quite happy with the first steps in that direction and in those markets, it seems to be the right approach,” he added.

The retail sector across the Middle East and North Africa is expanding, especially in the Gulf, where sales are projected to grow at 4.6 per cent annually to reach $386.9 billion in 2028, from $309.6 billion in 2023, Alpen Capital said in a report last year.

The growth is expected to be supported by an increase in population, rise in per capita income and boost in tourism activities.

Carrefour shuts Bahrain stores as HyperMax takes over

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