Emaar Malls, the Dubai-based shopping and retail malls company in which Emaar Properties owns the majority stake, has announced its full acquisition of Namshi, the region's leading online shopping fashion company .
This came on the heels of Emaar Malls' acquisition of the rest of the Global Fashion Group stake in Namshi via a cash deal valued at 475.5 million dirhams, equivalent to $ 129.5 million.Global Fashion Group and Emaar Malls entered into a strategic partnership in 2017, under which Emaar Malls acquired a 51% stake in Namshi. Global Fashion Group has collaborated over the past two years with Emaar Malls and the Namshi team to enhance Namshi operations by bringing in global expertise in the e-commerce sector and shared resources such as the acquisition of global brands and technology innovations that enhance performance.
Emaar Malls ’acquisition of Namshi is a natural extension of the company's digital transformation strategy aimed at benefiting from the growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa region. It is experiencing rapid growth in the Middle East, which in turn contributes to strengthening its physical assets portfolio in the retail sector.
It is worth noting that, Namshi has a growing customer base, currently estimated at 1.2 million customers, and its business has recorded remarkable growth during the past two years, with the value of sales in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaching 849 million dirhams ( $ 231.3 million) in 2018, a growth of 16 percent over the previous year.
