BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
Uzbekistan is one of the most promising countries in Central Asia, projected to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the CIS, Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, told Trend in an interview.
“This fact played a crucial role in Majid Al Futtaim’s decision to open seven Carrefour stores in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, over the coming two years. Our plan includes opening three supermarkets and one hypermarket in 2020, followed by another two supermarkets and one hypermarket in 2021,” stated Weiss.
According to him, these stores will collectively cover to 17,400 square meters of retail area across Tashkent.
Weiss added, that the UAE's Majid Al Futtaim holding works as a valued private sector partner, supporting governments and local economies to become the leading modern retailer in each country where it does business.
“We are proud to be an early player in the future development of Uzbekistan. It is our honor to be supporting the country on its transition toward a more open economy, and we remain dedicated to supporting the vision of this nation. We will allocate a total CAPEX investment of approximately $11 million towards this initial market entry for Carrefour. We will commit a further annual investment of approximately $10 million to support expansion in the country in the coming years,” stressed Weiss.
According to CEO, Tashkent at present is dominated by traditional farmers markets (68.5 percent) and convenience stores (27.1 percent), with modern retail accounting for only 4.4 percent through two local supermarket chains.
“Our investment into the area will, therefore, support the modernization of the retail sector and thus the broader local economy. Our first Carrefour store will be opening in third quarter of 2020 in Tashkent’s Karatash Street,” said Weiss.
Carrefour, therefore, seeks to hire from the surrounding region, to benefit from local knowledge while further supporting the economy, he added.
“We look forward to being a part of this exciting development journey and creating meaningful employment opportunities for local employees by fulfilling our brand promise of creating great moments for everyone every day,” stated Weiss.
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