Albanese Welcomes Arab Retail Giant to Challenge Coles and Woolworths

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He once derided his opponents as “delulu with no solulu.” But in Lulu, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hopes he has found an answer to Australia’s supermarket competition challenge.

Albanese finished his 10-day overseas mission with a stopover in the United Arab Emirates, visiting a local Lulu “hypermarket” and inviting the business to expand to Australia.

“I want to see more competition,” he said. “This is a significant company.”

‘I want to see that competition’

Lulu Hypermarket is one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East, with over 250 stores across the region.

“They are the largest throughout the Middle East. Egypt, here … the second-largest in Saudi Arabia,” Albanese said.

“We know that Aldi, of course, has come to Australia, but this is a significant player that has an engagement with Australia and I want to see that competition.”

Albanese said he “had a little discussion” with Lulu Hypermarket chair Yusuff Ali, as they were walking around the Abu Dhabi store, which had a display specially arranged with Australian products, including meats, cheese and biscuits.

“This company is big enough to have direct relations with [Australian] producers, whether they be mango producers, the orange producers, the meat producers that the chairman met in Mudgee that are still providing Halal-certified meat into this market,” Albanese said.

Election promises to outlaw price gouging

During its election campaign, Labor promised to outlaw supermarket price gouging, with Albanese saying supermarkets were “taking the piss” out of Australians.

A man in a blue shirt is pushing a trolley with a Lulu Supermarket sign in the background.

A free trade deal between Australia and the UAE will enter into force on Wednesday, removing tariffs between the two countries. Source: Getty / Tasneem Alsultan / Bloomberg

In March, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released its final report after a year-long supermarket inquiry, finding the dominance of Woolworths and Coles had an “oligopolistic” effect on the broader industry.

There was also a “limited incentive” for Coles and Woolworths to compete on price due to their market dominance, the review found.

But the consumer watchdog said it was “very difficult” to tell whether price gouging was actually happening in supermarkets.

Both Coles and Woolworths denied accusations of price gouging.

Free trade deal with UAE about to start

A free trade deal between Australia and the UAE will enter into force on Wednesday, removing tariffs between the two countries.

The UAE is one of the wealthiest countries in the region, with two-way goods and services trade worth $9.9 billion in 2023, and two-way investment exceeding that amount by just over double.

The visit was also timed to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The quick stopover in the Middle East followed more lengthy engagements in the United States, specifically for the leaders’ week at the United Nations, and the United Kingdom.

Albanese will be back overseas again soon, expected to take in a number of international gatherings during “summit season”, and then for a much-anticipated formal meeting with US President Donald Trump.