Store wars heating up

International retailer Géant has added another string to its bow as the battle of the stores continues to rage across the kingdom, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.

In a bid to target medium-to-low income families the French-based global chain has unleashed a third concept in the marketplace and the second store under the title of Gulf Mart Hypermarket.

Located in the Nass Centre in Hoora, as soon as the new centre opened its doors a large crowd of shoppers flocked into the premises eager to snap up a range of bargains including fresh fruits and vegetables, an array of meat products and more.

According to Géant’s manager supermarkets, Rais Uz Zama, this store follows in the footsteps of the chain’s successful initial opening in Muharraq.

The Muharraq store used to be a Last Chance supermarket which was the first venture of Fu-Com International in retail trade. Géant Hypermarket in Bahrain is also a Fu-Com International venture, in association with Groupe Casino of France, one of the largest hypermarket chain operators in the world.

Last Chance originally started as a convenience discount store which was later transformed into a supermarket after the arrival of larger scale supermarkets in the kingdom.

All the Last Chance outlets were located in residential areas with the aim of providing merchandise at the lowest possible prices. Now, Gulf Mart will take over the mantle, offering shoppers bargains in a friendly environment close to their homes.

Mr Zama said: “We want to open these stores in closed neighbourhoods so that people do not have to drive long distances to purchase their groceries. We wanted everything to be within their reach.

“It not only saves them time, but it will still provide them with the hypermarket shopping experience that they would get at larger stores.”

During the launch, Mr Zama conducted a tour of the facility for members of the media with owner of the building and director of Nass Group, Adel Nass, along with Philippe Merle, country manager, Fu-Com International Bahrain.

The fruits and vegetable section was swarming with people as everyone was trying to get their hands on the bananas, which were on promotion –195fils a kilo. This set the pace for the rest of the store, which was busy within 10 minutes of its grand unveiling.

Housewife Sheila Araujo, from Gudaibiya, was one of the shoppers attracted by the low cost bunches of bananas. She said: “Usually they cost around 500 to 600fils. Here they are less than half the normal price! Even the onions are 425fils. My husband recently bought the same amount elsewhere for 700fils a kilo.

“The prices are very reasonable and the location is really convenient for us as we live nearby.”

The company recently opened another concept store called Géant Easy in upmarket Saar three months ago.

Mr Zama added: “We have three concepts for Géant to cater to everyone.

Géant Hypermarkets are everywhere and target everybody and we are planning on opening four more Géant ventures in Bahrain. Next stop is a Géant Easy in Adliya and then a Géant hypermarket in Muharraq.

“As for Gulf Mart, we are looking to open in Busaiteen, Juffair and Hamad Town. One more hypermarket is also planned for Riffa.”