Business & Money | Thursday 25 October, 2018 2:00 pm |

Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail, and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia today announced an investment in Wadi which operates Wadi Grocery, the fastest growing online grocery delivery platform in Saudi Arabia. The investment in Wadi is part of a US$ 30 million funding round that will help set up the delivery mechanism for all Carrefour stores within KSA.

As part of the agreement, Carrefour will become Wadi Grocery’s long-term strategic partner for supplying food and non-food groceries. This partnership will provide customers access to over 12,000 high-quality products at the same great value prices found in Carrefour stores, delivered within a two-hour window on the platform, making the quick delivery of such a wide product offering the first service of its kind in the Middle East. Wadi Grocery is currently operating within Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam for Carrefour, and will gradually extend to customers in all cities throughout the kingdom where Carrefour is present.

Ankit Wadhwa co-founder and Managing Director of Wadi, said: “We believe that the two key drivers for success in the e-grocery market are a wide, price-competitive assortment and fast, reliable delivery. With Carrefour we have the best partner to bring e-grocery to every household in the Kingdom and beyond." He continued "We are proud of what we have achieved to date and look forward to increased success with the support of Majid al Futtaim”.

This agreement is the latest investment from Majid Al Futtaim, as part of its digital transformation aimed at extending its leadership beyond traditional retail and into an omni-channel proposition.

Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer at Majid Al Futtaim - Retail, said: “Saudi Arabia is a strategically important market for Majid Al Futtaim, and we are constantly looking for ways to expand in the Kingdom and serve our growing client base beyond our existing stores. Wadi Grocery provides a full ecosystem of enabling services including an in-house ‘last mile’ delivery network, and our investment in the platform will bring us closer to customers where we don’t have physical presence and fulfill their demand more efficiently.”

Within the last few quarters, Wadi Grocery has been able to grow intrinsically within the Saudi market by offering the largest product assortment among its competitors and excellent service mechanism. And with this strategic partnership, Wadi validates its strong presence and consumer insights for an important market like KSA.