ZEE5 Global has kickstarted its partnership with LuLu, the top retailer in the Middle East, by powering their bi-annual Indian-themed festival “Celebrating India” rolling out across its stores in the UAE, coinciding with the Indian Independence Day. The week-long festival will highlight food, offers, cultural shows and celebrity visits from 14^th to 20^th August 2019.

The festival was inaugurated by H.E. Navdeep Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, alongside Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer of ZEE5 Global, the official partners of this promotion, Saifee Rupawala, LuLu Group Chief Executive Officer and other top officials and government authorities at LuLu Hypermarket Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi.

H.E. Suri shared: “This is a wonderful initiative by LuLu in showcasing the rich culture and food heritage of India. I am looking forward to welcoming the residents and citizens of UAE to come and explore the delicious flavours of India. I am sure these products will be highly appreciated not only by Indian nationals, but also the local and other expat communities residing here.”

Commenting on the partnership, Archana Anand said: “With a huge demand for Bollywood and Indian content from not only the South Asian diaspora but also mainstream audiences, and a highly conducive digital and payment ecosystem, the Middle East is an extremely exciting market for us. As the largest retail conglomerate in the Middle East, LuLu has an extremely strong presence in the market and our partnership with them will help us reach our fabulous content bouquet to audiences in this market. I’m thrilled to be here today at the inauguration of the Celebrating India Festival, which marks the first step of this partnership.”

Powered by ZEE5, the global entertainment app for the best of Bollywood movies, Indian TV shows and more, LuLu gives customers a chance to join and win a free annual subscription of ZEE5 for every AED 50 purchase. LuLu customers will also have access to the latest movie releases exclusively on ZEE5, and a chance to meet with their favourite stars.

Speaking on the occasion, Rupawala said: “We have always taken pride for showcasing the beauty and diversity of Indian culture through a festival like “Celebrating India”. This is our humble tribute to the glorious tradition, food and offerings of India, which have been widely popular and embraced by the UAE population with more than 200 nationalities residing in it. More than 5 Million shoppers are expected to experience India through this festival. Other than the wide product range that we offer in store, this is our initiative to bind together all communities for a common interest.”  

About ZEE5 Global 

ZEE5 is the digital entertainment destination launched by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), a global Media and Entertainment powerhouse. The platform launched across 190+ countries in October 2018 and has content across 17 languages; Hindi, English, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi, and now also five international languages -Malay, Thai, Bahasa, German and Russian. ZEE5 is home to 100,000 hours of On Demand Content and 60+ live TV channels. The platform brings together the best of Originals, Movies and TV Shows, Music, Cineplays, News, Live TV and Health and Lifestyle content all in one single destination. ZEE5 offers ground breaking features like 16 navigational languages, content download option, seamless video playback and Voice Search.

The ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Google Play Store or the iOS App Store. ZEE5 is also available on www.ZEE5.com.  The app is also available on Samsung Smart TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.

LULU HYPERMARKET, where the world comes to shop—is the top retailer in the Middle East and one of the most successful businesses worldwide. Serving more than 1,600,000 shopping patrons every day, it is the fastest growing retail chain across 10 countries that include the GCC, India, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Founded in the early nineties, it has successfully expanded to different parts of the world and currently operates more than 175 stores with a staff force of 50,000.

LuLu Hypermarket, where the world comes to shop:

• Providing more than 1,600,000 customers an unparalleled shopping experience daily across the globe
• No. 1 retail chain in the Middle East and among the top 10 fastest growing retailers globally
• Operations in UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Malaysia, and Indonesia
• One of the Middle East’s top employers with work force numbering to 50,000