NEW YORK – The success story of NRI tycoon Yusuff Ali MA’s retail and hospitality business group continues on its upward trajectory. In a major inter-continental conquest, the Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group launched its maiden operations in the USA. Y International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lulu Group started its operations in Lyndhurst, New Jersey as a “world-class centre” for purchase, process, re-label and export of food, non-food, chilled and frozen products made in the US.
The facility was inaugurated jointly by Mayor Robert B Giangeruso, Mayor Michael J McPartland and Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director of SelectUSA, in the presence of Yusuff Ali MA, Chairman of Lulu Group, Saifee Rupawala, CEO, Ashraf Ali MA, Executive Director and Mohamed Althaf, Director. Attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included local and foreign officials as well as members of the Indian-American business community from around the country, thrilled by the anticipated impact of the company throughout the States.
Speaking to the media during the inauguration ceremony, Choose New Jersey CEO and President Michele Brown said, “In addition to bringing new jobs to our state, Y International’s export centre will give New Jersey and US manufacturers the opportunity to reach new markets in the Middle East and beyond.” With a turnover of $6.6 billion, Lulu Group operates in 37 countries with its range of hypermarkets, supermarkets and shopping malls, in addition to wholesale distribution, food processing and hospitality operations. The company has a 32 per cent market share in the Middle East.
Chairman Yusuff Ali MA highlighted the long-standing relationships between Lulu and the farmers and manufacturers of the country, with special emphasis on California. “Our group has been importing US products for a long time to cater to more than 700,000 shoppers who come to our 131 hypermarkets daily,” he added. He highlighted that there had been growing demand for US products throughout their retail chain stores, across the GCC, India and Far East.
“Y International USA’s decision to establish their first export distribution centre in the United States offers the company exciting new opportunities in the world’s largest consumer market, as well as enhanced access to hundreds of millions of global consumers,” said Vinai Thummalapally, executive director, SelectUSA.
Mohamed Bahzad, an official of the embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Washington DC, said that Lulu Group and its Chairman are also known for their corporate social responsibility. Yusuff Ali is very closely involved in many social, charitable and humanitarian activities – both in India as well as in Gulf countries.
A recent report by Deloitte International revealed that Lulu is ranked among the Top 10 fastest-growing retailers in the world. Forbes magazine had last year listed Yusuff Ali, a first-generation migrant to the Middle East, as the 30th wealthiest Indian and the 737th richest person in the world.
Even as Lulu expands inter-continentally, its chairman Padma Shri Yusuff Ali is focussed on investing in the motherland. He has announced investments of Rs 4,650 crore in Kerala, Rs 1,410 crore in Telangana and Rs 1,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh in the retail and hospitality sectors.
A shopping mall and a five-star hotel with investment of Rs 1,250 crore are being set up in Thiruvananthapuram, he said, adding that another five star hotel will come up in Kochi at an investment of Rs 1,600 crore.
In Telangana, Lulu will invest Rs 500 crore in a food processing plant, while a shopping mall will be set up in Hyderabad at an investment of Rs 900 crore.
In UP, Lulu Group will make an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore in Lucknow to set up a shopping mall and a five-star hotel and convention centre. The site for the project has already been identified and construction work will begin by December, Yusuff Ali detailed.
Admiring the Centre for raising the FDI cap for various key sectors, he assessed that investment to the tune of $150 billion will flow into India’s retail, aviation, tourism and manufacturing sectors from the Gulf countries in the next few years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to a number of Gulf nations, coupled with new initiatives to attract foreign investment, have made India the most talked-about FDI destination in the region eyeing a broadening of its non-oil inv