Seeking global world domination in the ecommerce marketplace, Amazon acquired Souq.com, a similar company with Middle Eastern origins. Souq.com is credited for not just proving the viability of the ecommerce channel in the region, but also in developing best practices that drive conversion rate optimization.
And so on face value, there's acquisition for the sake of gaining customers, vendors, talent and trust. Other reasons probably informed this buy. Risk mitigation would be another one. Amazon now has direct access to Souq.com's 75,000 merchants, who sell two million products across 30 categories.
Amazon paid $580 million in cash for Souq, according to filings. Bloomberg previously reported that Amazon was in discussions over an investment at a valuation in excess of $1 billion but, amid rivalry from Emaar's ambitious Noon.com project and others, an acquisition agreement was reached.
Ronaldo Mouchawar (Arabic: رونالدو مشحور), is a Syrian entrepreneur. In 2005, he co-founded Souq.com, the largest e-commerce retailer in the Arab World, making the e-commerce retailer the region's first unicorn. When Amazon acquired Souq in 2017, Mouchewar became vice president of Amazon Middle East and North Africa.
The term souk comes from Arabic and refers to marketplaces in the Middle East and North Africa. Although the lack of archaeological evidence has limited detailed studies of the evolution of bazaars, the earliest evidence for the existence of bazaars or souks dates to around 3000 BCE.
Souq.com officially became Amazon.ae on May 1, 2019. Amazon acquired Souq.com, the largest online retail platform in the Middle East, in 2017 and rebranded it as Amazon.ae to align with the global Amazon brand.
The change gives Amazon's Middle East service a more unified look and brand in the region. Until now, Amazon's only presence in the region was through Souq, which it acquired in 2017.
Amazon makes money through its retail, subscriptions, and web services, among other channels. Retail remains Amazon's primary source of revenue, with online and physical stores together accounting for the biggest share.
Souq.com was acquired for $580 million: Amazon's 2017 Q1 report to SEC. Souq.com's acquisition by Amazon was not really straightforward. The whole episode had a lot of twists and turns before confirmation by both the companies.
Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his Seattle garage. Bezos stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman in 2021. He owns a bit less than 10% of the company.
As of January 2024, Jeff Bezos remains Amazon's largest individual shareholder, followed by Vanguard Group, the company's biggest institutional shareholder.
Amazon's Strategic Efforts: Despite initiatives like setting up a logistics warehouse in Shanghai, Amazon failed to make significant inroads due to the robust competition and regulatory constraints. These challenges starkly contrasted Amazon's more successful expansion in the U.S.
Amazon pushed its e-reader and tablet product offerings, but China's complex regulatory approval delayed their debut. In 2012, Amazon's market share held at around 15%, but it later plunged to less than 1%, according to iResearch. Amazon officially closed its China marketplace in 2019.
According to CNBC, the main factor was the intense competition in China's domestic e-commerce environment. Homegrown e-commerce giants like Alibaba Group (Tmall & Taobao) and JD.com have surged to prominence, and essentially surpassed Amazon in China¹.
Who are Amazon's biggest competitors? Amazon's biggest direct competitors include Walmart, eBay, the Alibaba Group, Target, as well as more localized eCommerce marketplaces (such as Otto or Rakuten).
Key stat: Walmart was the biggest US retailer by US sales in 2022 with nearly $500 billion in sales, more than double the size of runner-up Amazon, according to the National Retail Federation.
Amazon recorded its highest operating profit in its history in the holiday quarter of 2023, buoyed by revenue growth across all its major business lines and a year of heavy cost-cutting under the direction of CEO Andy Jassy.
Amazon's Whole Foods Market grocery store chain acquisition, history, timeline. Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion. Before the purchase, Whole Foods had seen declining sales for several quarters. Warren Buffett and Albertsons were two other potential buyers who said no to the opportunity.
Amazon has completed its purchase of Souq, a 12-year-old e-commerce company sometimes called the Amazon of the Middle East. Amazon paid $580 million in cash for the Dubai-based online retailer, according to an SEC filing in April spotted by TechCrunch.
Acquisition will be one of the biggest in recent years for the global giant. said Tuesday it is acquiring Dubai-based Souq.com, placing one of its biggest global bets in recent years on the small but rapidly expanding Middle Eastern online shopping market.
On July 5, 1994, Bezos initially incorporated the company in Washington state with the name Cadabra, Inc. After a few months, he changed the name to Amazon.com, Inc, because a lawyer misheard its original name as "cadaver".
In the Electronics market in the United Arab Emirates, amazon.ae is ranked #2 with > US$150m in 2022. Therefore, amazon.ae accounts for 5.0% - 10.0% of eCommerce net sales in this category. The top stores are apple.com, amazon.ae and sharafdg.com.
You can shop on Amazon.ae by using the Amazon App or by visiting the new website. Both the app and the website offer a fast and rich browsing experience, accurate search results, trusted product reviews, personalized recommendations and simple order management.
