Guy Sauvage (left) and Dr Mohammed bin Nasser Al Qahtani (right) take local media on a tour of the recently opened Al Meera Store in Nuaija. (Qassim Rahmatullah)
BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: Al Meera, a leading consumer goods retailer, has plans to diversify its business by expanding its product lines to include furniture, home appliances and books stores, said a senior official of the company.
Guy Sauvage, CEO of Al Meera, said: “We have plans to diversify our business activities that will take place in the form of separate furniture, appliance and book stores as part of our upcoming malls.”
Al Meera, to enter into furniture business, has signed a joint venture agreement with the Thailand-based Index Living Mall (ILM), one of the largest lifestyle homes furnishing stores in Southeast Asia with two million square feet of sale floors across the country having two million pieces of furniture and home decorative items.
“We have signed an agreement with ILM to have the franchise in the Middle East region, including Qatar. Since it requires a big space it will not be possible to start operation before the next two years,” said Saugage.
Sauvage was speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of a media tour organised at the recently opened Al Meera store in Nuaija. Present were the top management of the company, including Deputy CEO, Dr Mohammed bin Nasser Al Qahtani.
The Naujia outlet is built to international specifications, and has been outfitted in Al Meera’s new interior design, allowing a more convenient and memorable shopping experience. It also has a dedicated book store which is expected to open within next two months.
The company has acquired 50,000sqm land in Ain Khalid area for the proposed ILM-Al Meera furniture store. It will be a mall-cum-furniture store.
Al Meera has also plans for different formats of retail business varying in different sizes including convenience stores, hypermarkets and malls.
“We have already opened convenience stores in some compounds in 150sqm to meet customers’ expectations and daily needs. Our expansion plans are part of Al Meera’s efforts to take it closer to our customers wherever they are. This is for their benefits,” he said.
Asked if the increasing number of shopping malls and the recently opened IKEA furniture store will have any adverse impact on Al Meera’s business, he said: “There is a room for new competition that stimulates business by itself. IKEA, for sure, is a very nice player. But there are others who are also doing great business. Prices are decreasing every day; it is just a matter of consolidation and maturity of the market.
“We have large assortments with fair price levels and outlets in closer locations to customers which is our unique selling proposition.”
He said that Al Meera is working on more than 20 projects at an expected cost of QR1.7bn (according to previous reports the company has QR4bn expansion plan). The projects are at different stages of construction, but all are expected to be completed in 24 months.
Speaking about the characteristics of the upcoming projects, Sauvage said: “They will be upgraded shopping stores with a better shopping experience with same price levels all across the network.”
Currently it has 37 stores, including five branches in Oman.
“This year we have opened two convenience stores at the Sealine and Beverly Hills 3 and expecting two more by year-end,” he added.
The Peninsula
