Noon, the $1 billion (AED 3.6 Bn) ecommerce platform founded by Mohamed Alabbar is now live in the Emirates!
The homegrown online marketplace is backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and a group of prominent Gulf investors including Al Shaya, a Kuwait-based retail franchise operator (who recently acquired a huge stake in Noon).
Noon aims to deliver a market-leading customer experience with its inventory of 20 million products ranging from fashion brands, baby products, homeware, technology, sports, electronics, grocery and a lot more. It has partnered with various local retailers to offer a range of original products and showcases an exciting collection of electronic goods and gadgets for the millennials in the region.
Mohammed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties and founder of Noon commented on the launch saying:
Today, we are excited to deliver orders to our first customers. 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” added Alabbar.
With offices in Dubai and Riyadh, the online marketplace has employed some of the brightest young Arab talent with e-commerce backgrounds. It aims to empower the youth in the region to participate in the growing digital economy. “Noon will use its local roots to deliver a service that is warm, attentive and personalised. In showcasing a growing product assortment, Noon derives strength from its strong connections with the local retail community. Noon’s marketplace platform will empower large and small businesses to participate in the region’s growing e-commerce market,” the company said.
The online marketplace is said to go live in Saudi Arabia “in the coming weeks” as per a statement from the company.
Olivia Roberts, Head of Retail (Middle East) says:
“After a much anticipated wait, Noon is finally here. I have been very excited about this launch now for many months as there has been a lot of hype in the market . Are the likes of Souq.com going to worried about a major competitor coming into the arena? From looking at the user experience today it looks great, very clean design and simple to input your details for your order. With a huge number of products now online, its now time for the consumers to test it out.”
