UAE retail operator eyes Saudi online market

Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business

UAE- based retail operator Marka has launched its first ever home-grown e-commerce venture in collaboration with the Souq.com.
The new venture would be primarily focusing on the fashion and the sportswear for the Saudi Arabia.
Enhancing its appeal to the retailers, Saudi Arabia is the base for the fastest and the youngest growing consumer market in the world. The country has also been noted as the largest economy and the biggest retail market in the GCC region.
Talking about Marka’s expedition in Saudi Arabia, Nick Peel, Marka’s CEO, stated, that this is the company’s first home-grown e-commerce venture, he added, “Our expansion into the kingdom of e-commerce is a milestone for Marka.
“Our prime aim is to focus on the younger and tech-savvy generation. We would be offering our sports retails online to new generation in Saudi Arabia as well as the other Gulf countries.”
The retail sector in Emirates is expected to witness exponential growth, especially in the e-commerce segment over the next few years. The population in UAE has become more tech-savvy and has been showing inclination towards the e-commerce sector as per the industry experts.
However the Middle East market is not way behind, online shopping has been growing at a rapid pace over the last decade.
The region with having been among the highest grossing per capita internet, it has a very high potential of grasping the top position in the e-commerce market.
Elaborating on the significance of the Saudi market globally, “Saudi Arabia is an important retail market for us, both commercially and strategically,” added Peel.
“We firmly believe that the next generation consumers will definitely take the online shopping to a new level. The first phase of our strategy with Souq.com shall concentrate initially on our sports retail brands and the second stage thereafter will focus more on our fashion labels.”
According to the Alpen Capital’s report Saudi Arabia continues to hold the largest share in the region’s retail industry. Estimated at 46.4 percent of
the region’s total retail sales in 2013, the country’s share in region’s retail sales is likely to increase to 47.1 percent in 2018.