The Dubai Government-owned oil and gas group Enoc Retail has announced to come up with a number of retail brands across the Emirates apparently for taking advantage of rapidly growing retail sector.

Enoc Retail, a division of Emirates national Oil Company, would bring Zoom convenience-stores, a number of italian food and coffee concepts, as well as its Thai restaurant, LemonGrass at customer's disposal.

Saeed Abdullah Khoory, chief executive at Enoc said, "We want to share our expertise by franchising the successful retail concepts and reach out to a wider audience in the GCC." He told that many retailers in the country did good business despite challenging atmosphere in the region.

Many international retailers are looking for expanding their presence in the Abu Dhabi. All the major supermarkets, such as Carrefour, Lulu and Geant are looking forward to strengthen their presence in the Gulf region. Apple already took the lead when it launched an online store in the Emirates on Monday.

Big fashion houses, such as Landmark Group and Allied Enterprises would also expand their business through retail outlets. Enoc Retail, operating a network of 170 Enoc and Eppco service stations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, would provide franchises for all its retail outlets.