Dubai’s Marka, a retail and restaurant start-up that listed on the emirate’s bourse last year, expects to turn profitable in 2016, a company official said, pushing back the timeline given earlier.
In January, Marka said it expected to turn profitable in the fourth quarter of 2015.
“The company has to consolidate the acquisitions,” said the managing director Khaled Almheri, explaining why the profitability expectation was delayed. The company has been boosting its revenue with new acquisitions.
Yesterday, it announced the completion of its first international investment: a 65 per cent acquisition in Icons, a football memorabilia company, for Dh15.3 million.
In December, Marka said it had agreed to buy the sporting goods company Retailcorp from Istithmar World, a unit of the state-owned conglomerate Dubai World, for Dh220m.
It has also bought stakes in a restaurant chain and entertainment centres in Dubai.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
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