*Amana Puregold plans to open five more branches in Qatar
Amana Puregold supermarket opened its first branch in the Gulf region in Doha last week, offering an array of items for all residents, especially Filipino products that are available in Qatar for the first time.
Amana Group Holding chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim MA al-Thani and Global Food Trading and Amana Puregold COO Peter Mathews, along with other company officials and guests, attended the event, which drew a large number of Filipino expatriates on the outlet’s inaugural day on Thursday.
“What we have seen is that many Filipinos are coming to Qatar so we thought of doing something and this new Amana Puregold store will benefit the community,” Mathews told Gulf Times.
“We have been doing a lot of distribution business in Qatar on Filipino foods, so we thought - ‘why don’t we expand our operations?," he said.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim MA al-Thani, along with Peter Mathews, tours the different sections of the newly-opend Amana Puregold at Al Sadd.
A large number of Filipino expatriates in Doha thronged the opening day of Amana Puregold
Amana Group is also planning to open five more outlets as part of its expansion in the near future to meet the growing demand for Filipino products, according to Mathews.
He noted that these outlets will serve residents in various locations in the country while it is also considering an outlet outside Doha “but not at this time.”
The 500sqm outlet has 70% Filipino food products in its shelves while local items and a number of brands from other countries are also on display.
Vegetables and fruits, (from salted eggs to ‘calamansi', banana, pineapple and mangoes), and canned goods, as well as non-food items such as cosmetics (Ever Bilena), are among the popular items on offer for Filipino expatriates in Doha at reasonable prices.
“If we will open another store it will be as big as this one but we are not limited to this size and if things come our way we might open bigger projects,” said Mathews, stressing that their focus now is to establish five to six outlets in Qatar “very soon".
Many Filipinos, especially those who live in the Al Sadd area, stand to benefit from the newly-opened Puregold outlet, finding it more convenient for them to buy Philippine products they like.
Sheryline C, who went for the store’s opening day, said she was delighted to see salted eggs at Puregold as she often asks her compatriots who take their vacation back home to buy her at least a dozen when coming back to Doha.
