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Gulf retail chain Spinneys eyes $1bn revenue by 2013

Un-listed Spinneys has seen its revenues growing by around 20% since 2007 in Lebanon, while in Egypt it is seeing even larger figures.
06.11.11 | Source: Arabian Business

Gulf supermarket chain Spinneys will cross the $1bn revenue mark in two years and is looking to expand further in the Middle East, its chief executive said on Sunday.

Un-listed Spinneys, which began operations in 1924 in Egypt, has seen its revenues growing by around 20 percent since 2007 in Lebanon, while in Egypt it is seeing even larger figures, said chief executive Michael Wright.

"We anticipate that by 2013 our annualized revenue will be at $1bn," he said.

Spinneys, in which Dubai private equity firm Abraaj Capital holds a controlling stake, is seeing strong growth at a time of regional turmoil in the Gulf Arab world and a slowdown in global economic growth.

Spinneys this month opened the first of four new grocery retail outlets it plans to unveil in Lebanon over the next six weeks as part of a regional expansion strategy. The capital expenditure of this first phase was $24m.

Wright said that the company plans to open an additional four stores in Lebanon, three in Qatar, two in Jordan and at least three in Egypt by 2013.

For Wright, expanding the supermarket chain is central to growing profits.

"Profitability comes with scale and the fact is that we're growing so much," Wright said.

"[Our operations in] Egypt and Lebanon are profitable, and Qatar will become profitable this year."

Spinneys had planned to further expand into new territories within the Middle East, but the unexpected political uprisings of the Arab Spring that have rocked the region since December pushed those plans back.

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