Dubai, UAE; March 1, 2015: Following the expansion of its ZOOM convenience store to Saudi Arabia, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has further strengthened the footprint of its retail business in the GCC region with the recent opening of the first ZOOM in Bahrain.

ENOC Retail partnered with Bukhowa Investments Holding Company to open the first ZOOM, a distinctive convenience store concept, in Juffair. Providing 24x7 service to residents in the locality by meeting their complete range of home needs from fresh fruits and vegetables to meat and poultry as well as other household and grocery items ZOOM promises fast, easy shopping experience for customers seeking convenience and value.

Burhan Al Hashemi, ENOCs Managing Director of Retail, said: ZOOM has created a distinct imprint in the convenience store and retail segment in the region on delivering fresh, high quality products with efficiency and the highest standards of customer service. We are thankful to Bukhowa Investments Holding for the partnership that expands our ZOOM retail concept to Bahrain. We will continue to explore potential growth opportunities across the GCC region by offering the full franchising support to our partners. Our plan is to open 260 franchise stores in the region within the next 5 years.

We are very excited to be opening the first ZOOM in Bahrain, said Omar Bukhowa, Managing Director of Bukhowa Investments Holding. Bahrain is such an amazing country with many different successful concepts and we are confident there is a place for ZOOM and excited by the challenge.

The first ZOOM in Bahrain is located in the Al Fateh service station in Juffair. The outlet will also feature Pronto, ENOC Retails F&B concept that offers fresh tea, coffee and pastries.

ENOC Retail currently operates over 170 ZOOM convenience stores as part of its service station network as well as across Dubai Metro stations. It also has 22 ZOOM market stores in convenient locations across the UAE. ZOOM is the winner of the Most Admired Retailer Food & Grocery in the 2014 Images Retail ME Awards and the Store Concept of the Year Award for the MENA region at the In Retail Summit 2012.

ENOC Retail has come to symbolise speed, convenience, service and value. In addition to its core fuel retailing, its service stations feature convenience stores, cafes, car wash and quick lube outlets, as well as automotive services and vehicle testing and registration offering an integrated experience for customers. ENOC Retail has over 4,000 employees who spearhead the retailing of fuel, fuel products and an array of products and services.