Retail Alabbar to acquire stake in online retailer YOOX Net-A-Porter Richemont Wednesday announced a long-awaited deal to offload most of its online fashion retailer YOOX Net-A-Porter (YNAP), clearing the way for its labels to sign up for technology run by luxury e-commerce specialist Farfetch. The deal, removing from its books a loss-making business that had become a distraction for the Swiss luxury group, was welcomed […] August 25, 2022
Retail UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim sees 73% surge in digital grocery sales UAE retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) recorded a 73 percent year-on-year rise in digital grocery sales in the first half of 2022, helping its total pre-tax earnings to rise 18 percent. The privately owned company, which operates the Carrefour supermarket brand in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, […] August 24, 2022
Retail Emaar to sell fashion retailer Namshi to Noon for $335m Dubai’s Emaar Properties said on Saturday it is selling fashion e-commerce venture Namshi to Noon, an e-commerce company backed by Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar and Saudi Arabian sovereign fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Emaar said in a bourse filing its board has in principle approved the sale, which values Namshi at $335.2 million, as […] August 21, 2022
Retail UAE retail economy report shows spending up 16% this year Consumer spending in the UAE is proving resilient against the effects of market volatility, supply chain stress, rising fuel costs and inflation. The State of the UAE Retail Economy report from retail giant Majid Al Futtaim showed that overall spending increased by 22 percent in the first six months of 2022 compared to the same […] August 8, 2022
Retail Egyptian e-commerce platform Homzmart raises $23m in funding Furniture and home goods e-commerce platform Homzmart has closed one of the past year’s biggest funding rounds for a Middle Eastern and North Africa startup, raising $23 million, its chief executive said. The company, launched in 2020, will use the new funding to expand services, especially logistics, and fill gaps that appear in supply chains, […] August 2, 2022
Retail How Ounass got the Gulf hooked on online luxury Luxury fashion website Ounass is among the e-tail platforms credited with developing the momentum of online shopping in the Gulf region. A report by consultancy Bain and Company claims 70 percent of GCC shoppers are now comfortable with digital retail, having always been better known for their love of malls, operated by the likes of Emaar […] July 29, 2022
Analysis Retail Ecommerce or bust: in-depth analysis on Gulf online shopping The coronavirus pandemic encouraged many people to embrace online shopping for the first time, leading to a huge spike in global ecommerce. But what does the sector look like now across the Middle East and North Africa? Its three largest ecommerce markets are the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel, and together they account for more […] July 27, 2022
Analysis Retail The tourists are back – and they want to shop till they drop Hotels in the UAE generated AED11 billion ($3 billion) in revenue during the first quarter of 2022, a 20 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2019 as Gulf tourism continues its recovery from the pandemic. In other regions, tourism has been rebounding slowly and unevenly. According to a report from the UN […] July 27, 2022
Analysis Retail Net zero is old hat, says the mall owner that wants to go bigger Sustainability is high on the agenda of the region’s major retailers, and in early July, Majid Al Futtaim gave an insight into what it is doing to limit its environmental impact, with the release of its latest environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) report. The retailer, which owns and operates 29 shopping malls across the […] July 27, 2022
Analysis Retail Let the tills ring out: retail is back with a vengeance in the UAE The UAE’s leading retailers are benefiting from a post-pandemic boom that has them eyeing further expansion into the region’s largest markets. Dubai was among the first economies to reopen after lockdown in 2020. It welcomed a flood of holidaymakers from all over the world to the relative freedom of the emirate. Anthony Spary, head of office […] July 27, 2022
Analysis Retail UAE’s gold clean-up rules will shine in the long-term New UAE gold regulations could take the shine off the sector and lead to a supply and profits squeeze, according to experts. The due diligence rulings were announced last week to help stem the flow of supplies from conflict zones and enhance the UAE’s global reputation in the long-term. The Due Diligence Regulations for Responsible […] July 25, 2022
Retail Turkish consumer confidence rebounds in July from record low Turkey’s consumer confidence index rose by 7.4 percent to 68.0 points in July, official data showed on Wednesday, after hitting a record low of 63.4 points in June as surging inflation and a beleaguered lira weighed further on sentiment. The biggest improvement was seen in the general economic situation over the coming 12 months, with […] July 22, 2022
Retail Online shopping spikes demand for Dubai warehouse space The growth of the online retail sector during the pandemic has resulted in a surge in demand for warehouse facilities in Dubai, according to new data. The UAE online retail sector will be valued at $8 billion by 2025, up from $5 billion in 2021 and $2.7 billion in 2020, according to a report published […] July 22, 2022
Analysis Retail Luxury retail rebounds from Covid in the GCC The GCC’s luxury retail market has made a quicker than anticipated recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. An increase in local spending has been a major factor driving the upturn, together with the expansion of the personal luxury market in Saudi Arabia. Figures from Bain & Company show that the GCC luxury goods market shrank by […] July 21, 2022
Exclusive Retail Vision giant Magrabi eyes IPO and global expansion Magrabi Retail could be set for international expansion and an upcoming IPO, according to Amin Magrabi, CEO of the Middle Eastern ocular powerhouse. With 142 stores, an estimated market share of 40 percent, 1,350 employees and revenue of $220 million a year, Riyadh-headquartered Magrabi Retail plans to double in size by 2025. “International expansion is […] July 20, 2022
Retail Factfile: Companies that have sold their businesses in Russia Some Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers as they scramble to comply with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized. The moves, part of a broader corporate exodus from the country, are likely to […] July 19, 2022
How I got to the top Retail Nidhima Kohli, CEO, Beauty Tribe What does your company do? Beauty Tribe is the first regional beauty pure play e-commerce site offering customers a curated shopping experience provided by beauty professionals – with a unique three-hour delivery time. It improves on the experiences shoppers are having elsewhere online: struggling with many counterfeit products, long delivery times, or lacking information on […] July 15, 2022
Retail Amazon reducing its private-label items as sales fall Amazon.com Inc has started reducing the number of items it sells under its own brands amid weak sales, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company has also discussed the possibility of exiting the private-label business entirely to alleviate regulatory pressure, the report added. Amazon, however, said it […] July 15, 2022
Retail Subway can be sued over its ‘100% tuna’ ads, says judge A federal judge said Subway can be sued for allegedly deceiving customers about its tuna products, including a claim it uses other fish species, chicken, pork and cattle instead of the advertised “100% tuna.” US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco called it premature to accept Subway’s argument that any presence of non-tuna DNA […] July 12, 2022
Retail Mexican used-car startup spends $60m on Istanbul expansion Mexican used-car platform Kavak is investing $180 million to open offices and make its platform available in four new countries, including Turkey – its first location outside Latin America, the company said Wednesday. Kavak, which calls itself the largest pre-owned car operation in the world, will enter Colombia, Chile and Peru with a planned investment […] July 7, 2022
Exclusive Retail Women-only shops could solve MENA’s $2trn equality dilemma When Deema Almasri joined optical retailer Magrabi to manage its new outlet in Saudi capital Riyadh, she said a big motivating factor was female empowerment. Taking the helm at the optician’s store at the Hamra Mall, Almasri is in charge of the company’s first female-only staffed outlet. It’s a growing fashion, particularly in the Middle […] July 6, 2022
Retail Apple hikes iPhone prices in Japan by nearly a fifth Apple Inc has hiked by nearly a fifth the cost of its flagship iPhone phone in Japan, which is battling a weakening yen currency and rising inflation. The Cupertino, California-based manufacturer’s entry level iPhone 13 now costs 117,800 yen ($870), Apple’s website showed, compared to 99,800 yen previously. With the dollar up 18 percent against […] July 1, 2022
