Group<\/a> standpoint, I think we will continue to get a larger share of wallets because of our diverse portfolio \u2026 We are cautiously optimistic \u2013 one should remain so because competition is very, very high. So, we pride ourselves on remaining grounded.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nFounded in 1973 with one shop in Bahrain by businessman Micky Jagtiani, the company has expanded into one of the largest retail and hospitality conglomerates in the Middle East and India.<\/span><\/p>\nIt operates more than 2,200 outlets, covering more than 2.7 million square metres in 21 countries, employing over 50,000 employees across brands including Centrepoint, Babyshop, Splash, Lifestyle, Max, Home Centre, Shoemart and Emax.<\/span><\/p>\nThe retail sector in the GCC is forecast to have grown by 15.7 per cent annually, outpacing pre-lockdown levels last year with revenue reaching $296.8 billion, according to a report by Alpen Capital.<\/span><\/p>\nGCC’s retail sales are poised to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent till 2026 to hit $370 billion, the report said.<\/span><\/p>\nLandmark also has a presence in Egypt, although it is facing challenges from currency devaluation, Mr Lumba said.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe’ve also seen a challenge to sort of export into Egypt because dollars are not freely available. So while we feel there is potential in the country, [with the population at more than 100 million], we definitely feel some of the macro factors in Egypt could have been a little bit more favourable than they currently are,\u201d Mr Lumba said.<\/span><\/p>\nAll things considered<\/h3>\n
There are several key factors to bear in mind when it comes to retaining customers, including product, quality, experience, price, convenience and sustainability, said Mr Lumba.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI think if you leave even one box unchecked, you are getting into a zone of consumers feeling a certain level of disservice. We do a combination of essentials as well as on-trend. And I think if we didn’t have that mix, probably we wouldn’t be where we are today.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe one thing that I definitely feel is that consumers are very, very optimistic and buoyant about the future, specifically in this part of the world, in the Middle East. India is one of the fastest-growing economies, so I think double-digit growth is almost par for the course.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIn Southeast Asia, we’ve just kind of started so I would say we are in a start-up phase that will take us some time to build.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIPO is not on the horizon<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\nWhile the GCC region has seen a surge in initial public offerings recently, Landmark is not currently considering one, Mr Lumba said.<\/span><\/p>\nThe company remains \u201cfinancially sound\u201d and profitable, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe don’t have significant leverage with banks. So overall, we use our organic cash flows to expand \u2026 We have strong relationships with the banks that we operate with here. But it’s more for support and not so much because we are in need of funds,\u201d said Mr Lumba.<\/span><\/p>\nIn the foreseeable future, the Group intends to open another business segment, with the move expected to be clarified in the next 12 months.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe prefer to strengthen our strengths. I think we have a very strong retail and hospitality focus. So, it’s all about consumers, we are about value products, great quality, FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] in nature,\u201d Mr Lumba said.<\/span><\/p>\nFor now, the Group’ will be concentrating on building brands in-house rather than acquisitions.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe don’t lack the hunger, we don\u2019t lack the ability to invest, it\u2019s just that we want to go and seek out the right kind of opportunity. And that’s a lot to do with the DNA of the organisation. We prefer building rather than buying and that hasn’t changed for some time \u2026 Never say never, but right now, honestly, there isn’t anything on the cards.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UAE conglomerate Landmark Group is preparing to launched hundreds of stores in the years ahead, calls of IPO plans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":20668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[154,1],"tags":[4013],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24080"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24080"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24082,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24080\/revisions\/24082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meretailnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}