Luxury retailers in the Middle East expand to the world of e-commerce

The Dubai luxury retailer is to launch Ounass, an online shopping portal in English and Arabic, at about the same time as the Dubai businessman Mohammed Alabbar is introducing two online luxury shopping ventures.

Al Tayer Group is launching the luxury fashion online retailer Ounass on December 15. Ounass

The Al Tayers are taking on Mohamed Alabbar as the Bloomingdale’s licensee launches an luxury e-commerce platform to rival Yoox Net A Porter.

The Dubai-based conglomerate, which is currently the largest luxury retailer in the Middle East, said it will launch its first online retail business on Friday, a luxury e-commerce brand called Ounass. It will serve the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Ounass.com, a dual language Arabic and English site, will sell a selection of women’s clothing, footwear, handbags, jewellery, cosmetics and home merchandise from designer brands around the world, including Gucci, Roland Mouret, Rami Al Ali and Ayesha Depala.

The company said it would deliver goods for free. It said that Dubai residents would be able to receive their orders in less than two hours, with same-day delivery for anyone based elsewhere in the UAE. GCC residents outside the UAE will receive their purchases within 48 hours.

The company also said it would offer the option for consumers to pay by cash on delivery as well as an in-home personal styling service, and easy exchanges and returns.

The news comes as more and more UAE businesses are looking to position themselves in the Middle East’s underserved e-commerce market, as improvements in technology and growing acceptance among consumers builds demand.

The move comes as the Emaar Properties chairman and prominent Dubai businessman, Mohamed Alabbar, has also been announcing ambitious e-commerce plans for the region.

Last month, Mr Alabbar announced not one but two new online ventures aimed at the Middle Eastern market, including a Dh505.5 million joint venture with Italian luxury online retailer Yoox Net A Porter and e-commerce firm Noon.

And according to media reports, Amazon, the world’s biggest e-commerce retailer, is currently in talks to buy a stake in the Mena region’s biggest e-commerce site, Souq.com.

“Ounass.com offers the Middle Eastern customer relevant merchandise, and content shot locally and created specifically for her lifestyle, together with a service promise unparalleled by any other regional e-retailer,” said Khalid Al Tayer, the chief executive of Al Tayer Insignia, the retail business of Al Tayer Group.

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