Landmark Group, the region’s leading retail and hospitality conglomerate, has announced its foray into Lebanon with the launch of two new stores for its leading retail concepts - Centrepoint and Max – in Beirut.

The launch of the two stores comes as part of the vigorous expansion drive adopted by the Group.

Micky Jagtiani, Chairman, Landmark Group, commented: “It is a great privilege to establish our footprint in Lebanon. The country has a thriving retail environment, with a lot of potential for new entrants. Lebanon offers Landmark Group the perfect opportunity to entrench our position in a market that offers a huge captive audience for our range of lifestyle products.”

Centrepoint, one of the flagship brands of the Landmark Group, and one of the largest lifestyle destinations in the region, brings together the Group’s core retail concepts Babyshop, Splash, Shoe Mart and Lifestyle under one roof.

Vipen Sethi, CEO, Landmark Group, said; “The launch of our Lebanon operations is an important step in our growth strategy. For us it is an important market as it gives us exposure to an audience that is clued on to the evolving lifestyle and fashion trends across the world. With an eight per cent growth in its GDP in 2010, the Lebanese market is also well-positioned to reap better economic benefits in 2011.”

He added, “The Group has an aggressive expansion strategy for Lebanon with plans to open 41 stores encompassing over 340,000 sq. ft. of retail space over the next five years.”

Adnane Chaaito, Territory Head, Landmark Retail Lebanon, said: "It is a very exciting phase for retail businesses like Landmark Group to enter Lebanon. The Lebanese people are as passionate about fashion and trends as the Landmark Group is about retail and creating tangible value through its retail offerings. Through leveraging our strengths, which include our greater understanding of the region’s aesthetic and cultural sensibilities, the Group brings a world-class retail environment for Lebanese consumers and we expect the country to become a significant contributor to its bottom-line."

Headquartered in Dubai, Landmark Group has a presence across all categories within the retail sector and diversified into areas such as hospitality and leisure. A leader in the Middle East retail industry with operations across 15 markets, the Group has successfully established its procurement might and offers a high value to customers.