DUBAI 26 February 2019: Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties, has fully acquired Namshi, a leading regional fashion e-commerce retailer.
This follows acquiring the remaining stake of Global Fashion Group in Namshi, in an all-cash transaction of Dh475.5 million.
GFG and Emaar Malls entered into a strategic partnership in 2017 when Emaar Malls acquired a 51 percent stake in Namshi. Over the past two years GFG has worked together with Emaar Malls and the Namshi team to strengthen the company’s offering by bringing global expertise in e-commerce and shared resources such as global brand acquisitions and technology innovations to the platform, said Wam.
Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, and Board Member of Emaar Malls, said, “The remarkable growth achieved by Namshi underlines the potential for fashion e-commerce in the region, where, every day, a larger number of people shop online to meet their fashion aspirations. With the consolidation of our stake in Namshi, we are highlighting our commitment to position Emaar Malls for growth over the next decade and to create outstanding value for all our shareholders through our omni-channel strategy.”
Emaar Malls’ full acquisition of Namshi is a natural evolution of the company’s digitally-driven strategy to leverage the growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The full acquisition reinforces the position of Emaar Malls in the rapidly growing online market in the Middle East, complementing its physical retail assets portfolio.
Namshi has a 1.2 million and growing active customer base, and recorded impressive growth in the past two years, having recorded sales across UAE and the KSA of Dh849 million (US$231.3 million) in 2018, an increase of 16 percent compared to the previous year.
The deal will further cement Namshi as among the region’s fastest growing e-commerce fashion destinations with
Founded in 2011, Namshi was the first to provide an online lifestyle destination for fashion and beauty to the MENA region. Now, Namshi showcases a selection of 700 brands.
