BinDawood Holding, Saudi Arabian grocery retail operator, opened the first express stores of its Danube brand at the Haramain High Speed Railway stations in Jeddah and Makkah yesterday.
The openings come as BinDawood Holding’s expansion plans for this year.
The express grocery stores at Jeddah and Makkah span 600 square metres and 800 square metres, respectively.
“We are excited to begin the roll-out of this new ‘Express Store’ model under our Danube brand at railway stations across the country,” said Ahmad A. R. BinDawood, CEO of BinDawood Holding.
“The Haramain High Speed Railway connects the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City.
“It’s an important site for launching the Danube Express store model which will offer a selection of fresh and high-quality food offerings that is synonymous with our Danube brand.”
By the end of the year, BinDawood Holding intends to open two more Danube Express stores at the Haramian High Speed Railway stations at King Abdullah Economic City and Madinah.
“The Haramain railway is expected to carry over 60 million passengers annually, and we are thrilled to reach more customers across the kingdom and introduce them to the Danube experience through the new ‘Express’ model,” Mr BinDawood added.
After the market’s closing bell yesterday, BinDawood Holding’s share price rose by 1.29 per cent from SAR85.6 to SAR86.7.
The grocery retailer was named Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing retail brand in 2021 in Brand Finance Saudi Arabia 50 2022 ranking.
BinDawood Holding reported a 40 per cent growth in brand value from 2020 to 2021, totalling SAR476 million.
In the second half of last year, the retailer saw sales increase to reach pre-pandemic numbers.
Stores in Makkah and Madinah saw a fivefold year-on-year improvement in sales with gradually increased footfall from pilgrims.
BinDawood Holding’s gross profit in the third quarter of last year was SAR397.3 million, an 11 per cent increase from SAR356.3 in the same quarter of the previous year.
