Saudi Arabia's BinDawood in talks for majority stake in French influencer marketing agency

Ykone, a subsidiary of TF1 group, specialises in content production, publishing and distribution

BinDawood Holding has entered into negotiations to acquire Ykone, the French influencer marketing agency. Photo: BinDawood Holding

Saudi Arabian supermarket retailer BinDawood Holding is in talks to acquire French influencer marketing agency Ykone.

The company, through its subsidiary Future Technology Retail, has entered into "exclusive negotiations" for the potential purchase of a majority stake in Ykone, a unit of France's TF1 group, BinDawood said in a statement on Sunday. The group specialises in content production, publishing and distribution.

"The potential transaction will be undertaken through a French subsidiary company to be incorporated by FTR," BinDawood said.

Paris-based Ykone, a profitable international influencer marketing agency, focuses on travel, beauty, fashion and luxury brands, with a presence in Europe, Asia, the US and the Middle East, according to the statement. It provides services on strategy, talent management, content production and monitoring to more than 200 brands worldwide, including in the Middle East and Africa.

Ykone counts among its clients brands such as Mac Cosmetics, Dior, Burberry, Gucci, Cartier and Chopard, MasterCard, Uber, Spotify, Marriot and Dubai's Jumeirah Group, according to its website.

The French company, which employs 150 people, said this month it was looking to hire for 30 positions in Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, Paris, Milan, Geneva, Miami, Hong Kong and Las Vegas.

BinDawood Holding has outlined its goals to solidify its position in e-commerce and to strengthen its omnichannel presence.

It established its wholly owned unit FTR in January to capitalise on investment opportunities in the technology and retail services sector either through setting up new companies or acquiring existing entities to help achieve its long-term goals.

It signed an agreement for the acquisition of International Apps, the company that developed and operates its two e-commerce channels, and said the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

The grocery retail market in Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow 2.8 per cent annually between 2020 and 2027 to reach 177.5 billion riyals ($47.33bn), while total grocery e-commerce penetration is expected to grow to 3.5 per cent by 2027 from 0.8 per cent currently, BinDawood previously said, citing data from Euromonitor and KPMG analysis.

The kingdom's e-commerce market, which grew about 60 per cent in 2019-2020 amid a digital surge that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, is poised to hit $13.3bn by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group and Meta Platforms.

BinDawood aims to capture 30 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s e-grocery market by 2028 as online sales continue to increase after the pandemic, it said.

The retailer's first-quarter profit rose 5.4 per cent on higher revenue driven by the start of the school term and the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions.

Net profit after zakat and tax increased to 65.5 million riyals, up from 62.1m riyals in the first quarter of 2021.

First-quarter revenue climbed 4.5 per cent to 1.175bn riyals as the BinDawood Haramain stores, located in Makkah and Madinah, benefited from the government lifting restrictions on Umrah pilgrims.