Kuwait's Alshaya invests in $1bn e-commerce platform Noon ahead of its launch

MH Alshaya, the Kuwaiti franchise operator which is present across the Arab world, Turkey and Russia, bought a stake in e-commerce platform Noon. It is a US$1 billion joint venture between a group of investors led by UAE billionaire businessman Mohamed Alabbar and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and is expected to launch later this year. Alshaya, whose franchises include Starbucks, Muji, Boots, The Cheesecake Factory and Victoria’s Secret, is the first retailer to announce a partnership with Noon, which was supposed to launch in January with 20 million products. The e-commerce retailer has said it will launch operations “later this year”, giving no further details. The size of Alshaya’s investment in the platform was not disclosed. “We see great value in our partnership with Noon, which complements our existing online channels,” said Mohammed Alshaya, the executive chairman of Alshaya. “Our partnership with Noon will allow us to expand our customer base, reach new market segments, and participate in the next level of growth in regional e-commerce.”

Kuwait · 18 Sep 2017