Arla Foods to strengthen distribution in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Many of the 2 million Muslims who begin arriving in Mecca next month will come across one or more Arla Foods’ products during the annual pilgrimage season following the recent opening of a new Arla distribution warehouse in the city.
“The new warehouse means that we are now closer to our customers and have much better opportunities for following up on sales,” explains Area Sales Manager Troels Mølgaard Kristensen. “
Mecca, which has 1.3 million inhabitants, lies 75 km from the port of Jedda on the Red Sea, Arla Foods’ port of entry to the Saudi market and the opening of the Mecca warehouse significantly cuts transport times between Jedda to Mecca. An added advantage of the new warehouse is that sales to shops serving Jedda’s 2 million residents can be improved. In fact, since late last year overall sales to the two Saudi cities have risen by 25%.
Arla Foods operates a total of 12 warehouses in Saudi Arabia, the group’s largest market outside Europe. Annual sales of, primarily, processed cheese, sterilised cream, feta cheese and milk powder total DKK 1.3 billion.