Causeway mark Michael Lomas

Grocery Retail Executive & Consultant · GCC & UK

Three decades running grocery retail.

From a family convenience store at seven to Vice President of one of Saudi Arabia’s largest grocery groups — and founder of Causeway Retail, the specialist grocery retail consultancy for the Gulf and the United Kingdom.

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30+ years · KSA · UAE · UK · operations, formats & commercial transformation

Michael Lomas, Founder of Causeway Retail
30+
Years in grocery retail
3
Markets led — KSA, UAE, UK
12,000+
Employees within led operations
5
Formats built from scratch

The record

An executive career, not a client list.

“I started behind the counter of my parents’ shop at seven. Thirty years on — across three countries and four hundred stores — I’m still asking the same question: why is this harder than it needs to be?”

2024–2026 · Vice President — Abdullah Al-Othaim Markets, KSA
Operations excellence, ERP and store development across 400+ stores; built and scaled a 92-store convenience network at +5pts margin; rolled one operating standard to 419 stores in two months.
2023–2024 · Senior Retail Operations Director — BinDawood Holding, KSA
Created the group’s convenience vertical from a blank page across a business of 86 supermarkets and hypermarkets in three countries. Build costs −35%; network revenue +21% in twelve months.
2022–2023 · Business Excellence, Retail Group — ADNOC Distribution, UAE
486 fuel-and-convenience stations, 12,000 employees, 44,000 data points; 14% commercial growth and an 18% pump-to-store conversion rate; founded the ADNOC Excellence Training Academy.
2018–2022 · Senior Retail Operations Manager — Urban Foods (Meraas), UAE
Géant retail across the UAE: 40 stores opened in three years; group business continuity through COVID-19 with zero loss of trading.
1999–2015 · United Kingdom
Lulu Group & NCC senior roles; grew the Bargain Booze franchise group 260%; earlier roles with Total UK, Carphone Warehouse and ASDA — after a childhood in the family’s convenience stores.
Causeway Retail

Causeway Retail

The specialist grocery retail consulting firm for the Gulf and the United Kingdom — operator-built strategy, measured in margin.

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The Gulf Grocery Outlook 2026

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The Gulf Grocery Outlook 2026

Five forces reshaping GCC food retail — and what boards should do about each.

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