Who Is The Indian Billionaire That PM Albanese Has Invited To Australia… And Can He Take On Coles And Woolworths?
- SAGA Magazine
- Oct 6
- 4 min read
Australia may be on the cusp of a major retail shake-up after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese extended an invitation to billionaire businessman M.A. Yusuff Ali, founder of Lulu Group International, to bring his supermarket empire to Australian shores.
The move has sparked excitement — and no small amount of speculation — about whether Lulu Hypermarket could truly mount a challenge to the entrenched duopoly of Coles and Woolworths.
“I am very happy that H.E. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, visited our Lulu Hypermarket in Abu Dhabi (on September 29, 2025),” Ali posted on social media.
“(PM Albanese) was greatly impressed after seeing the products we are importing from Australia. His Excellency also invited us to open our Lulu Hypermarket in Australia,” Ali added.
PM Albanese, who was on a visit to the UAE, where he kicked off a free trade agreement, confirmed the invitation.
"One of the great things about the (LuLu Group) chairman's company, there are 300 supermarkets just like this one. I have encouraged him to come to Australia as well. We need more competition in the Australian supermarket sector, and we have had a little discussion about that," Albanese said with Ali standing next to him.
Who is M.A. Yusuff Ali?
M.A. Yusuff Ali is one of India’s most celebrated retail magnates, although his empire was built far from his birthplace in Kerala.
After starting in the Gulf in the 1970s, Ali established Lulu Group International in Abu Dhabi, gradually expanding from a small trading business into a retail giant spanning shopping centres, hypermarkets, and food processing plants across the Middle East, India, and beyond.
Today, Lulu runs more than 250 hypermarkets and supermarkets across 23 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
With an estimated net worth exceeding US$5 billion, Ali has been consistently ranked among the wealthiest Indians abroad. The group employs more than 60,000 people, most of them expatriate workers from South and Southeast Asia.
In addition to retail, Ali’s investments range from hospitality and tourism to real estate and logistics, giving him the type of diversified portfolio that makes governments keen to court him as a foreign investor.
Why Australia, and Why Now?
The Albanese government’s direct outreach to Ali signals a renewed focus on attracting foreign retail investment, particularly from markets with growing ties to South Asia and the Middle East.
It is also another way to open up markets in UAE and other countries to Australian produce and products.
"Australian produce is the best there is. I want to see it shared with the world," Albanese posted on social media on his visit to the Lulu Hypermarket in UAE
"We’ve been working hard to diversify our trading relationships - on the 1st of October our free trade agreement with UAE kicks in. It’s fantastic news for Australian producers, workers and for our economy."
Over the past decade, Australia has deepened its trade relationships with both India and the Gulf, especially in food security, education, and energy.
For Ali, Australia represents an untapped but potentially lucrative frontier. Unlike in the Middle East, where Lulu competes against established international chains like Carrefour, the Australian supermarket sector remains firmly concentrated between Coles and Woolworths, with Aldi holding a modest but stable cut of the market.
Consumer dissatisfaction, however, has grown louder in recent years. Allegations of price gouging during the cost-of-living crisis, concerns over supply chain control, and a lack of variety in international food offerings have created conditions where a disruptive new entrant could find fertile ground.
What Exactly is Lulu Hypermarket?
Unlike Australian supermarkets, Lulu’s hypermarkets are sprawling retail hubs designed to cater not just to everyday shopping but also to lifestyle and leisure. A typical Lulu store combines groceries with electronics, apparel, homewares, and specialty imported foods under one roof.
Part of Lulu’s strength lies in targeting diverse communities through its specialty food imports. In markets across the Middle East and Southeast Asia, for instance, Lulu outlets have become essential stops for expatriates craving regional products — from South Asian spices to Southeast Asian snacks.
If brought to Australia, such an offering would cater directly to the country’s fast-growing South Asian and Middle Eastern communities while appealing to a broader audience attracted by price competition and international variety.
Can Lulu Challenge the Duopoly?
The billion-dollar question is whether Lulu has the muscle to take on the Coles–Woolworths duopoly — a system that accounts for more than 65 per cent of Australia’s grocery sector.
Aldi has managed to carve out around 10 per cent of the market after 20 years in the country, but the German discounter did so via aggressive pricing and a narrow, efficiency-driven model.
Lulu, by contrast, tends to fight on breadth and scale. Its hypermarkets might attract price-conscious consumers, but its global strength lies in variety — with international products and in-house brands that could strike a chord in multicultural suburbs across Sydney and Melbourne.
The challenge, however, is immense. Coles and Woolworths are unlikely to sit quietly.
What Happens Next After Albanese's Invitation?
While no formal agreements have been announced, Albanese’s invitation marks the start of exploratory discussions.
If Ali accepts the invitation, Lulu’s arrival would not only reshape local grocery shopping habits but also mark another chapter in Australia’s increasingly complex relationship with global capital and competition policy.
For now, shoppers can only speculate: is Australia ready for a taste of the Lulu experience — and are Coles and Woolworths ready for the fight?
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