Prepared By: Benoi Nair
Photographer: Saeed Ali Kahail

The new and unique set up is set to serve 3 emirates namely – Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman 

Dubai, UAE:

Union Coop, the largest consumer cooperative in the UAE announced the opening of a new branch with a different concept in the Al Tayy area. Due to the strategic location and ease of connectivity, this new branch will serve the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, providing them with food and non-food commodities at a comparatively lower price range of 15 to 20%. This comes within the framework of supporting the wise leadership’s direction and translating the rational aim of providing sustainable food resources in the country and building a food security system as a top priority.

Commenting on the new concept, H.E. Khalid Humaid Bin Diban Al Falasi, CEO of Union Coop said, “Union Coop has reformulated its strategic goals to accommodate rapid changes in light of the current pandemic to ensure the smooth supply of goods and products and overcome challenges, in response to the statement of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, which said ‘The process of the food supply is sustainable and will not be affected and is a top priority for the state’, and to contribute to supporting the policy of the Emirates Food Security Council and relevant government agencies.”

Al-Falasi added, “Since the beginning of the crisis, Union Coop provided strategic commodity stocks without charging the state or the shareholders any expenses or additional burden and contributed to building a food security & support system and maintaining the stability of markets and prices in the country, as well as harness all the capabilities to serve the country and the citizen away from material goals, indicating that the new branch represents a kind of community service because the profit margin covers operating expenses only, which guarantees the best prices while maintaining the high quality of products “.

The CEO points out that “Union Coop since its inception has been keen to establish strong partnerships and ties with countries of the world, through the efforts of its team and its strong relations with the exporting countries and local and external suppliers,” pointing out that the purchasing power and corporate reputation of Union Coop in the local and regional market contributed to the continued provision of goods, summarizing the current pandemic and demonstrating that the subject of ‘health’ goes beyond economics and politics in the hierarchy of priorities.

Al Falasi indicated that “The branch includes about 4,000 food and non-food products with a capacity to accommodate over 200 shoppers at a time, spanning a total area of 162,500 sq. m. in a strategic area away from congestion,” adding that the new branch is designed on the concept of self-service and that the value of purchases will not be entered under shareholders’ names for return on purchase consideration and not included as points in the loyalty program “Tamayaz”, to save more operating expenses to be directly reflected on shoppers benefit.