DUBAI 15 July 22018: In an interview with CNN’s John Defterios, Mohamed Alabbar discussed the rapid expansion of his $1 billion e-commerce start-up, Noon.
Six months after it was founded, the chairman of Emaar and developer behind the Burj Khalifa is now directly competing with Amazon within the Middle East market.
Speaking on Quest Express, Alabbar tells CNN that he’s now looking to expand Noon further through a tie-up with eBay and like Amazon, plans to enter the grocery market.
Online shopping represents two percent of the retail sector in the Middle East, compared to 15 percent in Western markets – however, Defterios hears this sector is expected to quadruple in the next two years.
“I am a man who runs an investment company. I look for opportunities – if the opportunities are right.” Alabbar tells Defterios “I’m in the food business; real estate business; I’m in banking; but the digital economy is everything.”
Key Quotes:
On advantages of founding Noon in the Middle East:
“We think that the whole region needs a player like us. We know these economies very well. We know the alleys, we know the issues, therefore for us to set up operations will be so easy. So, I would say that we should really be able to penetrate all these markets and to be honest, it’s a lot of work, if you don’t do it, I think the market will be cornered by one player.”
On expansion into other territories:
“Moving forward, we have to look at these other Middle Eastern markets. I think we should not be very shy even to look a little bit East. We should really look at Pakistan and countries like that, because they’ve got 180, 190 population out there. And I think if you were to go to North Africa, the same thing, the base is quite good in that the area as well.”
On the timeframe to incorporate grocery delivery into Noon and finding a provider:
“I think we should look at six months from now for us to start the business… We’re talking to a few. I think within the coming six months we should be final. Either that or we buy somebody, simple as that.”