V.T. Vinod and Naveej Vinod, the managing and executive directors of Mars International LLC, announced the opening of a branch of the Mars Hypermarket Group will be opening in Barka. The dedication ceremony of the store to the people of South Batinah Governorate will take place on June 30 and will be presided over by Sayyid Khalifa bin al Mirdas bin Ahmed al Busaidy.

In his speech V.T. Vinod said, "It is our privilege to express our heartfelt and sincere gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, and the government and people of Oman for giving us an opportunity to serve them in the retail sector."

"Mars has always represented the best in retail concepts and provided maximum convenience to our valuable shoppers. Let us all work together towards excellence and make shopping a different experience where customers feel that they have obtained the quality service for the money they shell out," added Vinod.

The Barka branch will be the sixth outlet for the Mars Hypermarket Group in the Sultanate of Oman, with a seventh scheduled to open in Qurum in October. While the Mars Group is a specialist in retail services, the international company is diversified into many other industries including healthcare under the brand Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, hospitality and real estate. The Mars Group hopes to soon enlarge its reach to additional GCC nations.