STORE bosses at one of the kingdom’s leading hypermarkets are delighted with the response from shoppers to its new outlet which opened just three months ago in an expat heartland.

Lulu Hypermarket is attracting thousands of customers from the area, students attending a uni-versity attached to the Atrium Mall, as well as a steady flow of folk crossing to and from the Saudi causeway.

Lulu Group Director Juzer Rupawala said: “We’re delighted with the response we have received from customers and the footfall is growing every day as word gets out in the community.

“It seems that our range of competitively-priced high-quality products appears to be a winning combination. We have regular special deals and promotions – so don’t miss out, check out the store today!”

As reported in GulfWeekly, Lulu founder Yusuff Ali M. A., a leading Indian businessman and philanthropist, attended the 100,000sqft store’s ribbon and cake-cutting inauguration ceremony last December.

It was the seventh on the island and the chairman and managing director of Lulu Group International, which owns the Lulu Hypermarket chain worldwide, was convinced the new outlet would prove popular.

“I always say, if the shoppers cannot come to Lulu, Lulu will go to them!” he told GulfWeekly at the time. “And, at Atrium Mall, we will be straddling two major geographic locations – the Saar and Janabiyah area of Bahrain, as well as the steady stream of customers from Saudi Arabia. So this 156th store is certainly getting close to the community in a different way.”

The policy appears to be working. The opening has meant loyal Lulu shoppers living in and around the expat hotspot no longer have to drive to A’ali, Zinj or Sanabis.

Friends British Lynda Wilson, from Janabiyah, and Irish Margaret Watson, from Saar, for exam-ple, have been customers for several years. Margaret said: “I think having Lulu in Saar is great and it’s a bit of welcome competition to the other stores in the area. They have everything that I need and it’s a nice shop to walk too.”

Lynda added. “I find most of the products I want here and it’s our place of choice now.”

Lebanese entrepreneur Emtinan Zidany runs her own banking consultancy firm and finds that having Lulu in Saar is both convenient and a great way to start her day.

She said: “It’s a two-minute drive from my place and it carries everything that I want. I don’t have to go to other stores to do my grocery shopping now. I can come in the morning before I start work, do my shopping and then get on with my day.”

South African grandmother Sarah Cronje was visiting the store for the first time last Tuesday and enjoyed the experience so much … she planned to come back the following day too!

She travelled from her home in Amwaj Islands to join her daughter, Eileen Pretorius, a teacher at the British School of Bahrain, and her granddaughter, Adrienne, on the shopping trip, and said: “I really love the freshness and how spaciously the store is designed. It’s very impressive.”

Sarah added that she ‘loved it’ as she filled up a trolley and was particularly pleased with the ‘freshness of the vegetables’ on display.

The store, located on the mall’s first floor, also features a make-your-own salad bar and offers gluten-free, local and world cuisine options, which makes it a big hit with both students and faculty at the newly-opened campus of The British University of Bahrain, which works in partnership with the University of Salford, Manchester.