Home Centre to invest Dh1 billion to boost presence in Mena, Asia

The Dubai-headquartered brand has grown from a single store opened in Sharjah in 1995 into an international network of nearly 90 stores spread across 10 countries - Supplied photo

Home Centre plans to invest more than Dh1 billion over the next five years to strengthen its presence across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, its top official says.
Mederic Payne, chief executive officer of the largest home retailer in the Middle East, said 50 new stores will be launched by 2020 to expand the brand in the region.
Payne, who has completed a year after having taking over as a CEO of Home Centre, said the brand is now embracing various technology, marketing and other initiatives to retain its customer base and tap into the potential modern customers who are more prone to shop online with defined requirement.
"We are going to launch our online platform [www.landmarkshops.com/homecentre] on September 20. The latest initiative will enable customers across the UAE to browse and shop more than 2,500 products ranging from furniture to household accessories from the comfort of their homes," Payne told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of a media roundtable in Dubai on Wednesday.
The Dubai-headquartered brand has grown from a single store opened in Sharjah in 1995 into an international network of nearly 90 stores spread across 10 countries and occupying a total space of four million square feet, offers 12,000 products.
The brand will also remodel over 40 existing stores in the region, fortify its existing supply chain and enhance its warehouse infrastructure. "The UAE offers diversity and that brings in a lot of ideas which leads to a dynamism which helps to understand each customer differently," he said.
Target markets
While continuing to strengthen its existing market presence, Home Centre will also explore expansion opportunities in countries such as Kazakhstan, Morocco, Kenya, Algeria and Angola, both through organic growth and new franchise operations. The brand's projected expansion will create around 3,000 additional job opportunities by 2020. In a bid to adapt to evolving customer needs, Home Centre aims to introduce a wider offering over the next five years to include a range of innovative products, a lifestyle range of home storage options, modular furniture concepts, as well as completely new product categories.
"We have ambitious plans for Home Centre in the next five years. We will increase our store count and retail footprint by 50 per cent, while venturing into new markets. This expansion will fuel Home Centre's next phase of growth with four new stores coming up in the UAE," said Payne - a seasoned professional - with over 17 years of experience in home retail. More than 80 per cent of Home Centre customers are reported to be loyal to the brand, with studies indicating that on an average, a Home Centre Shukran member visits one of the brand's stores at least three times a year.
Home Centre has been consistently ranked among the top 50 brands in the Middle East Global Brand Simplicity Index. In addition to this accolade, it maintained its Superbrand status for three consecutive years in the UAE (2010-12), as well as once each in Kuwait (2010) and in Jordan (2012).
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com