Godrej looks to lock down more of the UAE market

India’s Godrej, a lock manufacturer, is aiming for a bigger slice of the UAE market as it looks to cash in on increasing construction in the residential and hospitality segments.

Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems, part of the 117-year-old Godrej Group conglomerate, said it would invest about 50 million rupees (Dh2.9m) to double its market share from its current 1 per cent.

Its UAE revenue, which comes mainly from door handles and padlocks, was US$1m last year. Godrej Locks expects to double that in the next three years through its two distributors.

Godrej is also looking to expand in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.

“We want to focus on residential and hospitality projects to grow in the business-to-business segment and expand the product [range] to grow in the retail segment,” said Shyam Motwani, the executive vice president of Godrej Locks. “It takes a while to understand the market, the local customer needs and partners, and now that we have a critical mass we want to expand.”

Construction in the UAE is picking up. Last week, Al Habtoor Group announced Dh2.01 billion worth of new projects. That includes a hotel, an upmarket residential complex and a polo centre. The 334-room hotel and Oasis Villas, comprising 74 units, are due for completion in 2016. Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club will be a five-star 136-room hotel and 162 luxury villas.

Next year Al Habtoor expects to launch its three hotels on Sheikh Zayed Road on the site of the demolished Metropolitan hotel.

In the retail sector, Mall of the Emirates is working on a Dh1.5bn expansion that will add 250,000 square feet of gross leasable area, of which 100,000 square feet will be taken up by a 24-screen multiplex theatre.

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