Al Meera to takeover Oman’s Safeer stores

ASIF IQBAL

DOHA

AL MEERA Holding Company, a subsidiary of Al Meera Consumer Goods Company, on Saturday signed an agreement to purchase the business and assets of the Safeer stores in Oman.

Safeer operates hypermarkets and supermarkets in Oman.

Under the agreement, Al Meera will take over operations of Safeer stores in December 2012, with renovations and refurbishing scheduled to start immediately to ensure all the stores are rebranded to Al Meera in the first quarter of 2013. The purchase includes three super markets and two 5000 square meter hypermarkets.

A total of five stores will be operated, two of which are located in Muscat.

According to the agreement, Al Meera Holding will have a 69 percent stake in the new entity.

While NIFCO will hold 30 per cent, Al Meera Development will have 1 percent stake.

“This purchase gives us a strong foothold in the lucrative Omani market, and we will see more stores opening in the country in the future,” said Al Meera Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Nasser al Qahtani.

“With our Omani operations, the Al Meera brand is now international, as promised in the October’s extraordinary general meeting,” said Qahtani.

He said revenues generated from this purchase will reflect as of January 2013 on the company’s profits and losses.

“Oman is only our first solid foray into markets outside of Qatar, and we aspire to leave a mark on the international markets in the near future,” he said.

Al Safeer Group’s first trading venture by the name of Wahad Al Buraimi, at Buraimi in Oman was established in 1985.

Later, in 1989 the group expanded its operations to retail by opening Al Damas in Buraimi.