BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 14
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
The latest data indicates that Uzbekistan’s economic progress has been impressive to date, and this development has been underpinned by a series of government reforms that have made this country an attractive option for international investment, Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, told Trend in an interview.
“Furthermore, Uzbekistan, and particularly Tashkent, has also received investment into infrastructure, especially in the real estate, telecoms and transport sectors, creating a more friendly business climate. Majid Al Futtaim acknowledges that a supportive government, growing economy and high demand for a customer-centric offering, has transformed Uzbekistan into a compelling fit for company’s expansion into Central Asia,” stated Weiss.
“As part of our country analysis, we discovered a secure and stable country, and one that is modernizing quickly,” he added.
According to him, furthermore, with 72 percent of the population under 40 years of age, the economy of Uzbekistan is expected to grow steadily as young people join the growing workforce.
“We applied a rigorous set of indices to measure and analyze the Uzbekistan market before progressing with our strategy. In our research, our team reviewed a broad spectrum of data from government legislation and judicial systems, to evaluations of economic growth, population and GDP. In the early stages of committing to Carrefour expansion, we also make additional considerations, including supply chain strength and reliability, import restrictions, and transportation infrastructure. Penetration and saturation of modern retail are also crucial considerations at this stage, to ensure we have a healthy volume of supply and to provide competitive prices going forward,” stated Weiss.
In his words, Majid Al Futtaim’s assessment of Uzbekistan reveals a credible opportunity for expansion and to add value to the local economy.
It is a rapidly developing country, and it is expected that modern retail’s representation of the total retail market in Uzbekistan will triple to approximately 15 percent in the next five years, noted Weiss.
He believes that Carrefour’s entry into the market will accelerate this rate by offering unbeatable value, range, quality, hygiene, and customer service to the local community in each location in which Carrefour will operate.
“Through our research, we discovered that with no hypermarket format currently in existence in the local market, Carrefour is well-positioned to deliver exceptional customer service to the people of Uzbekistan. Research by French SAD Marketing company further reveals the food retail market size of Tashkent was valued at $3.4 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow by 47 percent and reach $5 billion in 2023," said CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Retail.
As a result of expected growth and a rising enthusiasm for modern retail, and based on the customer experience and demand, the company acknowledges there is a robust prospect and opportunity to expand Carrefour within Uzbekistan, he added.
According to him, Majid Al Futtaim is ready to invest into the local Uzbekistan economy.
“We are looking at further opportunities to grow in the future, not limiting this growth to Tashkent, the capital, as we see great potential in this country in the years ahead,” Weiss stated.
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