Supermarket chain Spinneys announced that it will open a new outlet in Beirut during the autumn of this year. Located in the Mar-Mitr area of Achrafieh, the new supermarket will have a selling space of 2,000 square meters, a food court and parking for 220 cars.
The company said that, in addition to its regular range of products, the Achrafieh outlet will carry a wider range of French products directly imported by Spinneys. It added that Spinneys will maintain the same competitive pricing policy at all its current and future outlets throughout Lebanon.
The Spinneys chain is owned by the Dubai-based Cupola Group. Cupola previously announced plans to invest $20 million in Lebanon earmarked towards opening several new supermarkets under the Spinneys brand name by the end of 2002 that will be fully owned by the Cupola Group.
Cupola already operates a Spinneys outlet located in the Dbayyeh area north of Beirut. It opened at the end of 1998 and posted a 20 percent growth in sales in 1999. New locations will be in the Jnah area of Beirut, Damascus Road, Jounieh, Sidon and Tripoli.
Competition among international supermarket chains in Lebanon is likely to intensify in the near future. In addition to the Spinneys expansion, French supermarket chain Monoprix opened its second outlet last December in Achrafieh, while French hypermarket chain Carrefour reportedly plans to open a store in Lebanon, constituting the chain’s first outlet in the Middle East. — (Lebanon Invest)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
