Noon, the US$1 billion e-commerce platform founded by the Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar, started operations in the UAE on Saturday to tap into the region's fast-growing e-commerce industry that is forecast to double in size by 2021.
The platform is set to go live in Saudi Arabia "in the coming weeks," the company said in a statement.
"Today we are excited to deliver orders to our first customers," Mr Alabbar said.
"We are proud to take this important first step in our journey, and we are committed to making Noon the region's Arabic-first e-commerce platform.
"As digital technologies cause disruptions across industries and geographies, it is important for us to shape a digital marketplace that is relevant to our local markets and serves as a growth platform for brick-and-mortar retailers."
__________________
Read more:
E-commerce in the UAE: is 2017 the year it finally takes off?
Kuwait's Alshaya invests in $1bn e-commerce platform Noon ahead of its launch
_________________
Noon is a joint venture project between Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund, and a number of prominent Gulf investors led by Mr Alabbar.
The creation of Noon comes amid a flourishing of e-commerce businesses in the region, and on the heels of Amazon's purchase in March of the online retailer Souq.com, based in Dubai, for US$580 million.
The Middle East's e-commerce sector is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, with online sales expected to double to $48.8 billion by 2021, according to BMI Research.
"While partly due to low base effects, we believe the Middle East is on the cusp of a major e-commerce growth spurt," said BMI.
"With young and affluent consumers, developed transport networks for logistics and high internet penetration levelshe Middle East is home to a number of attractive e-commerce markets, led by the United Arab Emirates," BMI said last week.
The e-commerce sector has been rapidly growing in the UAE thanks to the country's affluent and digitally savvy population.
Mergers and acquisitions in the sector have picked up pace over the past year.
There is also a notable push by a number of home-grown brands to go beyond brick-and-mortar operations that have traditionally defined the retail landscape, with a pivot to develop the online shopping industry and directly challenge the likes of Souq and Noon.
"Noon means there is going to be more competition, more digital adoption of commerce and retail, more consumer options and new funding going into the digital start-ups. As they say, 'let the games begin,'" said Fadi Ghandour, founder of the courier service Aramex and head of the regional venture capital firm Wamda Capital.
"E-commerce is here and is eating into everyone's margins, retail operators need to come on board or they will die. I also think retailers that have strong physical infrastructure are going to be huge beneficiaries if they know how to use their bricks to attract clicks with the ability to be local, fulfil locally say within no more than two hours."
Noon customers can browse the platform's catalogue of brands by visiting www.noon.com or by downloading the Noon Mobile App via the Google Play Store.
A mobile app via Apple Store will be available in the coming days. The platform's launch has been long awaited, as it had originally planned to go live in January 2017.
In July, it appointed Faraz Khalid, the co-founder of online fashion retailer Namshi.com, as its new chief executive, to help steer the company through its launch.
Last month, MH Alshaya, the Kuwaiti franchise operator which is present across the Arab world, Turkey and Russia, bought a stake in Noon, although the size of its investment was not disclosed.
MH Alshaya will list its portfolio of international brands covering fashion, health & beauty and home & lifestyle categories on Noon's platform.
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
If%20you%20go
%3Cp%3EThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Kathmandu.%20Fares%20with%20Air%20Arabia%20and%20flydubai%20start%20at%20Dh1%2C265.%3Cbr%3EIn%20Kathmandu%2C%20rooms%20at%20the%20Oasis%20Kathmandu%20Hotel%20start%20at%20Dh195%20and%20Dh120%20at%20Hotel%20Ganesh%20Himal.%3Cbr%3EThird%20Rock%20Adventures%20offers%20professionally%20run%20group%20and%20individual%20treks%20and%20tours%20using%20highly%20experienced%20guides%20throughout%20Nepal%2C%20Bhutan%20and%20other%20parts%20of%20the%20Himalayas.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
The%20end%20of%20Summer
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Salha%20Al%20Busaidy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20316%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20The%20Dreamwork%20Collective%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million