Spinneys makes alternative Europe-UAE freight route permanent after profit rise

Spinneys, the Gulf supermarket operator, has decided to keep an alternative freight corridor between Europe and the UAE in permanent use after the route proved its value during disruption caused by the Iran conflict earlier this year. AGBI reports that the company's top line grew more than 5% to AED1.9 billion ($517 million) in the first half of 2025, with management crediting the rerouted logistics chain for helping it cut cargo delays, maintain stock availability and protect profit margins through a period when regional shipping was under pressure.

The decision reflects a broader shift among Gulf retailers and logistics planners toward diversifying supply routes rather than reverting to pre-disruption norms once a crisis passes. Conflict-related shipping risk in the Gulf and wider Middle East has made single-corridor dependency a genuine commercial vulnerability, and companies that built contingency routes during the acute phase of disruption are increasingly choosing to retain them as standing infrastructure rather than temporary fixes. For a grocery retailer, where stock availability directly affects customer loyalty and margin, that resilience has a measurable payoff.

The move also comes as other parts of the region's energy and logistics infrastructure normalise: Saudi driller Ades Holding has confirmed that all of its offshore rigs, suspended in March at the start of the US-Iran conflict, have resumed operations. Together, the two developments point to a Gulf business environment adapting its risk management permanently rather than simply waiting out disruption. What to watch is whether other UAE and wider Gulf retailers follow Spinneys in institutionalising alternative freight and supply routes, and whether that added resilience shows up in more stable margins across the sector through future periods of regional volatility.

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