The new e-commerce company, Noon.com, will have same-day delivery for products as clothing, books, sports and outdoor, toys and electronics.

Speaking at Dubai Opera House, Alabbar, who is also Chairman of Emaar, said: “We are turning e-commerce environment in the region upside down.” 

The new $1 billion venture will be introduced in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and then worldwide from January.

Alabbar, who is leading the venture with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, described Noon as “nothing less than a quantum leap in retail in the region, and the world”. 

He added: “I am pleased to announce that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia will take 50 per cent equity in Noon. In addition, the head office of Noon will be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”

Alabbar said he expects the new company to have a dominant market share in the region with competitors such as Souq.com, which currently offers around two million products on sale.

“With Noon, we are offering the most customer-centric e-commerce experience available anywhere,” he said.

“In one move, we are launching a future-focused company which is the biggest online shopping platform ever seen in the region. Noon is a company born in the Middle East and serves customers in the Middle East.”

Payment can be made through NoonPay and the new venture will also have a logistics centre in the Dubai World Central.

A same-day delivery through Noon Transportation, an in-house express delivery service and Aramex will be provided.

In July it was reported that Alabbar was a lead investor in Boson Ventures Corporation, which purchased a 9.9 per cent share in Aramex. 

CEO Fodhil Benturquia said Noon.com’s edge over its competitors lies in its deployment of the latest technology.

He said: “Our customer experience will be driven by state-of-the-art technology that will power everything from product discovery to purchase and delivery.”

He said that Noon, through its mobile app and noon.com website, will be an end-to-end e-commerce retailer. 

Benturquia added: “We want to be the partner of choice for sellers, whether they’re big or small. We invite them to be part of our ecosystem, working together to change the online shopping landscape for the Middle East customer.”

Noon’s team has a wealth of e-commerce experience earned at sector leaders including Amazon, Apple, PayPal, eBay, Google and Flipkart.

With an initial investment of $1 billion, Noon will launch in the UAE and KSA markets and will soon cover the Middle East region. Noon aims to grow online sales in the region from two per cent of the total market ($3 billion), to 15 per cent ($70 billion) within a decade. 

Will it Really change the ecommerce market in Arab world??

The name of the new site is derived from the Arabic letter N, or Noon.