Saudi Marketing Company, operating as Farm Superstores, reappointed Hazem Fayez Al Aswad as Chairman and his son Maher Hazem Al Aswad as Vice Chairman and Managing Director on March 24, 2026, following an Ordinary General Assembly meeting held on March 10. The appointments position the Al Aswad family to lead the Saudi Arabian retail and food distribution company for a four-year term through March 20, 2030. Hazem Al Aswad holds a non-executive Chairman role, while Maher, an engineer with a degree in Materials and Metals Engineering, takes on executive responsibilities as both Vice Chairman and Managing Director. The reappointment marks continuity for the founding family, which controls more than 51 percent of the publicly listed company.
The board move came through standard corporate governance processes, with the company announcing it had appointed Abdulazim Al-Nasri as Board Secretary alongside the leadership roles. The company also designated Maher Al Aswad and Mohammed Al Aswad, both executive board members, as its representatives to the Capital Market Authority, the Saudi Exchange and the Securities Depository Center Company. The board created a Remuneration and Nominations Committee chaired by independent director Tariq Mahmoud El Deeb, with external members Loay Dakhil and Khalil Al Nimri completing the committee. No external search firm involvement was disclosed in the announcement to Tadawul, the Saudi stock exchange.
Hazem Fayez Al Aswad holds a Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering and has previously served multiple terms as Chairman since at least 2017, when he and Maher were first appointed to their respective positions. He maintains memberships in related entities including Saudi Marketing and Trading Holding Company and Aswad Trading and Construction, where he serves as Executive President. Maher Al Aswad, his son, has held the Vice Chairman and Managing Director title through prior board terms and continues to be recognised as a primary operational leader. Both executives bring engineering credentials to the retailer; family members Mohammed, Tariq and Mohammed Hazem Al Aswad also serve as board members, underscoring the family's concentrated control.
Farm Superstores, established in December 1978 in Dammam in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, operates a retail network of approximately 90 branches across the kingdom, plus 17 mini markets serving residential complexes and seven Adventure World amusement centers. The company, listed on Tadawul since February 2014, operates in the Food and Staples Retailing sector. The company reported net profits of SAR 18.72 million in the first nine months of 2023, representing a 16.45 percent increase compared to the prior year period. Farm Superstores expanded internationally with a branch in Beirut, Lebanon, holding a stake in Saudi Marketing and Trading, its Lebanon-based subsidiary.
The continuity of family leadership suggests confidence in the existing management structure, though family-controlled succession carries inherent governance questions common to founder-led retail operations globally. The appointment of independent committee chairs and external board members signals at least nominal engagement with governance separation. Whether the concentration of operational and ownership control serves shareholder interests beyond the founding family remains an open question for minority investors, particularly given the company's modest profitability trajectory relative to the broader Saudi retail market and ongoing competition from larger operators like Carrefour and ALDI, both with significant Saudi presence.
