Carrefour & Wissol Group Georgia Form a Successful Partnership
Majid Al Futtaim Retail, the retail arm of Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has announced its partnership with MP Development, the real estate arm of Wissol Group in Georgia.
At the end of July, MP Development is to launch its next shopping center in the heart of Batumi City, where anchor tenant will be Carrefour supermarket. The 2,500 sq.m. store will offer customers the widest choice of fresh produce and household goods, with over 15,000 items at competitive prices and will create more than 150 new jobs. In addition to Carrefour Batumi, the second shopping center for MP Development will also carry fast food restaurants Wendy’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, a branch of Bank of Georgia, a pharmacy, toy shop, shoe and clothing shops and other retail shops of different profiles.
Carrefour launched its first supermarket in May 2017 in the MP Development-owned shopping center located in Gldani, Tbilisi. Carrefour Georgia will take over two more supermarkets from Wissol Group’s Smart during the summer.
Smart will continue to develop itself in its original format as small supermarkets, mostly located at petrol and natural gas stations in different cities and at rest areas on highways. Smart small-format supermarkets have shown great profitability; hence, it has become one of Wissol Group’s priorities to further develop this business.
Carrefour was first launched in Georgia in 2012, with its first hypermarket in Tbilisi Mall. Today, Carrefour has two hypermarkets and six supermarkets in Tbilisi, with over 1500 employees. As a result of its successful partnership with Wissol Group, Carrefour will soon open its first supermarket in Batumi and two additional supermarkets in Tbilisi. This step will initiate new opportunities and will help create new jobs to support the economy in Georgia. In line with Majid Al Futaim’s vision to create great moments for everyone, every day, Carrefour offers an exceptional shopping experience, providing the widest range of quality products at competitive prices as well as distinguished customer service.
“It is highly valuable for us to have such close partnership with Carrefour that is economically interesting for both parties,” said Soso Pkhakadze, President of Wissol Group. “This partnership will bring solid investments, modern infrastructure and more jobs. Batumi shopping center alone will create over 250 additional jobs.”
“We are delighted with this successful partnership established between Carrefour and Wissol Group in Georgia,” said Philippe Peguilhan, Country Manager of Carrefour in Georgia. “It is our intention to develop several interesting projects together with Wissol Group. This partnership will pave the way for further expansion of Carrefour stores in Georgia, as well as further investments and more job opportunities.”
Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
A remarkable business success story, Majid Al Futtaim started from one man’s vision to transform the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure to ‘create great moments for everyone, every day’. It has since grown into one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses spanning 15 international markets, employing more than 35,000 people, and obtaining the highest credit rating (BBB) among privately-held corporates in the region.
Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 21 shopping malls, 12 hotels and three mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt, City Centre malls, My City Centre neighborhood centers, and four community malls which are in joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. The Company is the exclusive franchisee for Carrefour in 38 markets across Middle East, Africa and Asia, and operates a portfolio of more than 175 outlets in 15 countries.
Majid Al Futtaim operates 284 VOX Cinema screens and 30 Magic Planet family entertainment centres across the region, in addition to iconic leisure and entertainment facilities such as Ski Dubai and Ski Egypt, among others. The Company is parent to the consumer finance company 'Najm', a fashion retail business representing international brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, AllSaints, lululemon athletica, and Crate & Barrel; and a healthcare business that operates City Centre Clinics. In addition, Majid Al Futtaim operates Enova, a facility and energy management company, through a joint venture operation with Veolia, a global leader in optimised environment resource management. The Company also owns the rights to The LEGO Store and American Girl in the Middle East and operates in the food and beverage industry through a partnership with Gourmet Gulf.