HOME Amazon reaches agreement to buy Souq.com
NASDAQ-quoted Amazon has reached an agreement to acquire SOUQ.com, a major e-commerce player in the Middle East. The move ignites an intriguing battle for e-commerce supremacy in the fast-growing region, with Noon.com, which has financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, due to launch in the coming weeks.
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DISTREE Middle East invites retailers, distributors and vendors to enter 2017 MERA initiative awards
DISTREE Events has confirmed a deadline of April 29th for companies to enter the submission-based awards, which form part of the ‘Middle East Retail Academy (MERA): 2017 Awards’ taking place at DISTREE Middle East in May. The annual MERA Awards, taking place for the 10th consecutive year in 2017, celebrate excellence in the region’s consumer technology retail channel.
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The exclusive MMR20 vendor programme will form part of DISTREE Middle East 2017, which takes place on 8-10th May at Meydan Hotel in Dubai, UAE. The programme, which successfully launched in 2016, is reserved for consumer technology brands that have demonstrated a sustained retail leadership position in one or more product categories across the Middle East during the last year.
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Garmin expands African reach with MTN Nigeria
Fitness tech brand Garmin has teamed up with MTN Nigeria partner to introduce a range of health and fitness devices in-country. “Building off of our partnership and recent launch with MTN Ghana, we are excited to extend our footprint in Africa and partner with the leading telecommunications provider to bring these innovative solutions into Nigeria where we have seen an increasing interest and adoption of healthy lifestyles by many people,” said Jenna Chisnall, marcomms manager for sub-Saharan Africa at Garmin.
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Extra sales reach US$1 billion in 2016
Saudi retail giant Extra’s sales for full year 2016 were flat at US$1 billion. The company’s operating income fell 57% year-on-year to US$6.29m, with after-tax profits dropping to just US$560,000 compared to US$13.1m in 2015. Extra’s financial report showed that selling and marketing expenses were US$9.1m higher in 2016 compared to 2015, hitting US$120.9m.
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Souq.com opens service centre in Dubai
Middle East e-tailer and online marketplace Souq.com has whipped the covers off its first customer experience centre, located on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. The move to open a physical space highlights the complexities of new omnichannel supply models embracing both offline and online. Souq.com claims that the new facility will make life more convenient for customers as well as sellers across the UAE.
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Jarir Bookstore opens new store in Medina
Saudi Arabian tech retail giant Jarir Bookstore recently opened a new showroom in Medina, taking its store network inside the Kingdom to 39. Jarir’s total store network now numbers 47, including its outlets outside of Saudi Arabia. The new Medina showroom on King Abdullah Road spans more than 4000 square metres. Jarir Bookstore invested more than US$16m in its latest outlet. More than 60% of the staff employed at the new store are Saudi Arabian.
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DISTREE Middle East moves to Dubai for 2017 event
DISTREE Middle East 2017 will take place on the 8-10th May at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai, UAE. The three-day channel event unites consumer technology brands and distributors with senior executives and buyers from the region’s leading retailers and e-tailers. Exhibitors pre-schedule one-on-one meetings with retailers and e-tailers attending the event, enabling them to target specific markets or channels for their product portfolio.
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DISTREE Russia announces return to Moscow for 2017 technology channel event
DISTREE Russia will return to Moscow in 2017. The country’s leading technology channel event will once again offer technology suppliers access to Russia leading retailers, e-tailers and resellers in one place at one time. DISTREE Russia will take place at Hotel Yahonty in Moscow on the 21-23rd June 2017.
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Canon honours Emax, Carrefour, Media Square and Extra
Canon Middle East, a leader in imaging solutions, reinforced its commitment to channel partners at its latest regional awards. The awards formed part of a two-day ‘Imaging Inspired’ event that saw 170 decision makers from Canon’s tier one and tier two channel partners from across the Middle East region gather together. In the Middle East region, Emax UAE bagged the Canon Middle East performance award for 2016 in the DSLR and lens category, considered a prime business area for Canon.
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