Comparison of Lulu and Carrefour Chain :

Both Lulu and Carrefour are similar with respect to pricing their products and the magnitude of the range of products sold. Both comes complete with entire departments for electronics, furniture, garments, groceries , footwear and anything anyone would require in setting up a home with the basics. Carrefour S.A. -Is a French multinational retailer headquartered in Boulogne Billancourt, France, in Greater Paris. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world, the second largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue, and the third largest in profit (after Wal-Mart and Tesco). Carrefour operates mainly in Europe, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Carrefour means "crossroads" in French. Lulu Hypermarket: It is one of the biggest retail hypermarket chain in Asia and is the biggest in Middle East with 103 outlets in the GCC itself. Started by EKME group and based in Abu Dhabi, "PadmaShri" Mr.M. A. Yousuf Ali is the Managing Director of Lulu Hypermarket chain. Lulu Strengths : Lulu has got better market share In UAE region. They also get the benefit of attracting cheaper labour from India. The bonding shared by Lulu with the rulers of the region has also benefitted them. Also the local population being mostly from Asian region associates themselves more with Lulu . Weakness: They do not attract many westerners. Moreover since they have a high concentration of stores in the Middle east, any unrest in the region could affect them badly.

Carrefour Strengths: Being a well known International chain, they cater to a more diverse customer base. Weakness: They have limited number of variety in the products they stock when compared to Lulu. The customer service was low compared to Lulu

Comparison of stores based on the visit

1. Store layout architecture: Both the stores have Grid architecture. Counters and fixtures are placed in long rows or runs usually at right angles to the store. The advantage being that the merchandises are easy to locate by the customers. 2. Heavy traffic areas: Lulu: It was mainly the food and groceries section, because most of the customers are family members who do their weekly shopping.

Carrefour: Electronics ,food /groceries, personal grooming because Manar mall attracts a lot of young people. Electronics sections are mostly frequented by window shoppers. 3. Lighting and ambience inside the store: Both the stores have overhead toned lighting . 4. Merchandise Organization: Lulu: The merchandise were organized by Vendor. Eg: Baby cereals, milk powder etc.. from Nestle were stocked together. Carrefour: The merchandise were organized by category. Eg: Baby cereals from Nestle, Babelac, Heinz etc.. were stocked together. 5. Fixtures: Lulu: They extensively used face outs ( for clothing) and cubes(for electronics) for displaying. Gondolas were also used for displaying Diwali candles and decorating materials. Carrefour: They used primarily gondolas (for footwear),face outs and tables. 6. Target customers: Lulu: Primarily attracts Indians, Filipino and local Arabs Carrefour: They primarily caters to the needs of westerners and local Arabs. 7. Sales person : Lulu being a bigger store with a wider range of products in Baby care division had 7 employees for that section compared to 2 employees in Carrefour. In home furnishing both the stores had just 1 dedicated salesperson. With regard to their knowledge both the stores had well informed staffs, but Lulu staffs were found to be more friendly and helpful. Moreover since 85% of the staffs in Lulu came from Kerala, there was better understanding and coordination between them.