LuLu Group International
LuLu Group International commenced its operations as a family business venture. After joining the business, Yusuff Ali diversified the business to include the import and distribution of frozen products from Europe and the United States. The products were available not only in Abu Dhabi but also in other Emirates. The business was soon expanded to include both food and non-food categories. The group also started cold storage, meat, and food processing plants, large-scale import and distribution to hotel groups, catering companies, and shipping services. By the 1980s, the group had a sizable share of the wholesale and retail food market in the UAE.
The group has grown into an international group with operations spread over three continents. The group's flagship retail chain of LuLu Hypermarkets and Supermarkets is currently rated as one of the major players in the Middle East retail sector with more than 100 stores in Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Apart from the hypermarkets, supermarkets and department stores, the group also owns several shopping malls, namely, Khalidiyah Mall, Al Raha Mall, Al Wahda Mall, Mushriff Mall, Madinat Zayed Mall, Mazyad Mall, Ramli Mall, RAK Mall, Dana Mall, Al Foah Mall, Al Khor Mall, Riyadh Avenue Mall in Saudi Arabia and Oman Avenues Mall spread across nations of the GCC.
LuLu International Shopping Mall in Kochi, Kerala was opened on 10 March 2013. It is the group's first retail venture in India. LuLu International Shopping Mall in Thiruvananthapuram was opened in 2021 & is the largest mall in India. LuLu also has malls in Palakkad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Kottayam & so on. The group has a vast organizational structure of over 65,000 employees, representing 42 different nationalities, out of which more than 30,000 are Indians. Retail business is the mainstay of the Group with operations in major Middle Eastern and African countries like UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Kenya, having Retail Sourcing and manufacturing bases located in the Far East, India, Africa and Guangzhou in China. Indian operations mainly include Food Processing, Export of Food & Non food products and convention center with bases in Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Lucknow and Thrissur. Deloitte has ranked the Group as one of the fastest-growing retailers in the world.[33][34][35][36][37]
In 2025, LuLu Group inaugurated Kerala's tallest twin IT towers in Kochi's Smart City, spanning 3.4 million sq ft and accommodating 25,000 professionals.[38]
