DHAHRAN, 11 April 2005 — When 90,000 eager customers attempt to squeeze into a space that accommodates 15,000 in a normal day, the chaos that ensues is predictable. That’s exactly what happened at the new Geant Hypermarket on Thursday.

“We had some idea of what to expect this past weekend due to our experience at the opening of Geant in Riyadh,” said Mohammed Adil, CEO, Geant Saudi Ltd. “We did our best to maximize the customers’ experience without compromising safety. Frankly after what happened at the opening of IKEA in Jeddah we were very aware of the necessity for effective control of the crowds. If even one child had been injured we would have considered this weekend’s opening a failure. Thank God our plan proved successful and we feel confident that this Geant Hypermarket is on the road to success.”

In the Eastern Province Geant opened on Wednesday as a part of the Mall of Dhahran’s opening. Approximately 250,000 visitors were welcomed to Geant over the first weekend with resulting sales that were the highest ever in the Gulf. It was estimated by Adil that only 25 percent of the visitors were serious buyers with the remainder of the crowd made up of spectators interested in seeing something new. The electronics and clothing sections were the top draws followed by the special discounts on food items.

“Geant is a store for the common man,” Adil remarked. “We guarantee the best prices in town on the 55,000 items on our shelves. More than 500 items are on discount at any one time. We send out our staff daily to do surveys at the other shopping locations in town to see how our prices compare. I believe we are bringing true competition to the local market in the Eastern Province for the first time.”

Geant may be targeting the “common man” but last weekend common men were having a difficult time getting into the hypermarket. As a crowd control measure the mall’s security personnel had been instructed to allow only families into the venue. Most cars with single males were refused entry even to the mall’s parking area. Some bachelors did manage to get to the doors of the mall or the hypermarket but there security firmly turned them away.

“This is outrageous,” said Rob, a British expatriate who had planned to shop at Geant. “I’ve never seen any supermarket turn away unaccompanied men. I have money to spend but after the discrimination I’ve suffered today I can assure you that I won’t be coming back here.”

It wasn’t just the singles who were unhappy. Once inside Geant visitors found that the crowds made shopping a misery.

“It was the first time I ever had a fight over a shopping cart,” claimed a man from Oklahoma, USA, who had visited the market with his wife. “Another man grabbed onto the same shopping cart as I did. He looked desperate so I let it go. It took us hours to get just a few items. I believe in the future we’ll just stick with shopping at the commissary on camp.”

To get their discounted items home people had to tolerate checkout lines that were always at least 15 carts long. No one was delighted with that experience.

“I came here to buy some of the electronics that are being offered on discount,” said Nayef R. Al-Anazi. “But I told my relatives not to come. I don’t think most people have three or four hours to spend at a supermarket.”

Geant Saudi’s CEO was aware of the problems faced last weekend by the hypermarket’s customers and apologized for the inconvenience they encountered. He stated, however, that much of the havoc had simply been caused by the overwhelming response during the opening.

“We expect that the situation will normalize within 10 days,” asserted Adil. “Some customers did not find those brands common in their countries but this week we have several major shipments coming in that contain many of those items. We encourage customers to request any products they don’t find on display. This is one of the finest Geant Stores in the world from the design and product range perspective. With that as our foundation, I personally promise that within three months we will exceed all expectations for quality and price.”