Retail
Retail
Kuwait’s Alshaya invests in
$1bn e-commerce platform
Noon ahead of its launch
The franchise operator is the
first retailer to announce a stake
acquisition in Noon
T
he franchise operator is the first retailer to
announce a stake acquisition in Noon
MH Alshaya, the Kuwaiti franchise operator
which is present across the Arab world, Turkey
and Russia, bought a stake in e-commerce
platform Noon. It is a US$1 billion joint venture
between a group of investors led by UAE
billionaire businessman Mohamed Alabbar and
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and is
expected to launch later this year.
Alshaya, whose franchises include Starbucks,
Muji, Boots, The Cheesecake Factory and
Victoria’s Secret, is the first retailer to
announce a partnership with Noon, which was
supposed to launch in January with 20 million
products. The e-commerce retailer has said it
will launch operations “later this year”, giving
no further details.
The size of Alshaya’s
investment in the platform
was not disclosed.
“We see great value in our
partnership with Noon,
which complements our
existing online channels,”
said Mohammed Alshaya,
the executive chairman of
Alshaya.
“Our partnership with Noon
will allow us to expand
our customer base, reach
new market segments,
and participate in the next
level of growth in regional
e-commerce.”
The Kuwaiti company
plans to sell fashion, health
and beauty, and home
and lifestyle brands from
its international product
portfolio on the platform.
Noon announced last
November that it had a
warehouse the size of 60
football pitches in Dubai and
a head office in Riyadh.
“Noon brings a new business
model for e-commerce,
developing a strong supply
chain that benefits regional
businesses,” said Mr Alabbar,
the founder of Noon. “We
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