Albanese Invites UAE Hypermarket Giant to Compete With Coles, Woolworths

The Australian prime minister says the move would increase competition.

Woolworths and Coles supermarket signage in Melbourne, Australia on March 13, 2024. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited a popular Middle Eastern supermarket chain to set up shop in Australia.

Albanese made the invitation as part of a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), capping off a 10-day international tour.

The Australian leader reportedly spoke to Lulu chairman Yusuff Ali while walking around the Abu Dhabi Lulu mart.

“I want to see more competition,” he said.

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

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

Lulu appears to have similar offerings to Aldi, selling a range of groceries, homewares, fresh produce, and “special buy” type items.

The invitation comes amid what the prime minister has termed an “ambitious trade diversification agenda,” which includes a landmark free trade agreement with the UAE coming into effect from Oct. 1.

Once fully implemented, almost all Australian exports will enter the UAE duty-free, with Albanese claiming the move will save Australian stakeholders around $185 million in the initial 12-month period.

The UAE is Australia’s largest trade partner in the Middle East, with more than $12.3 billion moving between the two in 2024.

In addition to traditional trade, Australia and the UAE are expected to work together on renewable energy and collaborate on investment in AI and data centres.

Former Premier Says Labour, Business Conditions Not Ripe

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, now-businessman, expressed his reservations about trying to bring Lulu to Australia.

“So [Albanese], you want to bring a UAE supermarket to Australia because they can sell Aussie beef in Abu Dhabi for less than in Oz?” he wrote on X.

“Did you tell the head of LuLu about electricity costs in Australia that are double what they are in the UAE?

“Did you warn him about your IR laws that sees teenagers doing a Sunday shift in a supermarket getting paid over $55 an hour plus 12 percent super?”

Newman also pointed out “punitive levels of tax” on commercial property in Victoria.

“Then there is local government that hits new retail developments with a maze of regulatory requirements, fees and charges and significantly delays projects.”

Newman labelled the move a stunt to be “fed to gullible media,” urging the government to instead look at measures for cheaper groceries as a result of better domestic management.

In 2024, Graham Young, executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress, said grocery inflation was due to government policy.

“Blaming supermarkets for inflation is an old Labor habit, with the Rudd government in 2007 establishing a website called Grocery Choice meant to put downward pressure on supermarket prices,” he said.

“It never worked and finally had to be put down in 2009 by then-Competition Minister Craig Emerson.

“Ever since the last election, Labor-aligned drums have been beating the supermarket rhythm again.”

Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi were contacted for comment.