Arab News

Geant Hypermarkets, a leading name in the Middle East in retail sales, has launched a promotional campaign across Saudi Arabia offering its consumers discounted prices on a wide range of products on the occasion of Ramadan and Eid festival. “Shoppers will enjoy freshness in our products with quality at a lower price,” said Tim Sutton, general manager of Geant Saudi Hypermarket Company, here yesterday.

The promotional campaign, he said, coincides with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. “The campaign covers the whole array of products ranging from juices and milk, fashion wears and electronic items to fresh fruits, vegetables, tomato paste and dairy products,” said Sutton, adding that goods are available in different sizes and flavors in all the six Geant hypermarkets in the Kingdom.

Spelling out the salient features of Ramadan campaign at Geant stores, he said that the objective of this exercise is to solidify Geant’s commitment to freshness and quality. “We are aware of our consumers’ needs,” said the Geant general manager. “With Ramadan under way, we felt it was important to offer shoppers a range of juices, vegetables, fruits, children wears and dairy products for less,” said Sutton.

He pointed out that the Ramadan promotional campaign has been expanded until Eid festival with an aim to introduce new products to consumers from various markets. He said that the fresh fruits, dairy products and chocolates and sweets are greatest in demand, but shelves of other products are also being cleared rapidly. “Thanks to the quality offered by Geant and loyalty shown by customers,” said Sutton.

An Arab student, Sarah Al-Otaibi, 26, who along with her mother, was doing her Ramadan shopping at Geant, said that the supermarket was more crowded than the normal days. Geant hypermarkets are more crowded in Ramadan than usual, but are even more crowded on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Sarah said that she was expecting a long wait at the cash counter but she was surprised that the wait was not long and her turn came in few minutes! She said this was another reason to come back to Geant, despite the fact that I love to shop here.

A Pakistani housewife, Shahnaz Katariwala, said: “I found all the products I came to buy, and that too on reasonable price”. Similar comments were echoed by many customers who shopped at Geant stores during Ramadan this year. “In fact, Geant stores are the only places in the Kingdom, where one can have all the goods and services under one roof,” said Aleem Ahmed, Geant’s marketing manager.

Aleem said that more than 65,000 products have been stacked by Geant stores under one roof. “And this stacking and decoration have been made in a very scientific and professional manner,” said Aleem, adding that Geant hypermarket is a part of the French retailing giant Groupe Casino, which knows how to ensure and enable consumers to find the whole variety of products and services.

He said that Geant is on the expansion course and the Al-Kharj store, opened a couple of months back, is the sixth outlet of Geant’s expanding world of retailing. The Geant operations currently employ over 2,500 people of different nationalities in the Kingdom. He said that Géant offers an entirely new shopping experience for people in the Kingdom. Geant stocks and sells products ranging from groceries, bakery and butchery products, textiles, fashion wear, shoes, electronics, sporting goods, household items and accessories, cosmetics, perfumes and much more.

Referring to the crowds attracted by Geant stores, Aleem said: “It is a very exciting time for us and we believe that by situating ourselves in strategic locations all over the Kingdom, we give consumers the added convenience of a one stop shopping destination”.

The Geant hypermarkets incorporate a very high standard of display and merchandising and is today a leader in the market in aesthetically designed hypermarkets, he noted.

In fact, Geant has raised the bar and set new retailing standards in the industry. With the group’s strength in local retailing and knowledge of the region and Groupe Casino’s expertise in Hypermarket operations, Geant is an embodiment of the best local adaptation of international standards in retailing.

He said that the consumers were presented at Geant stores with a retailing experience that is suited not just to their needs but also to their tastes and aspirations. The hypermarket also launches unique theme-based promotional campaigns helped it to pitch itself across all customer segments of the Kingdom’s multicultural consumers. Designed on the pattern of best outlets of Europe, Geant stores offer products with best quality and best price across the Kingdom.