Saudi Retailer Jarir Sees Opportunities to Expand Despite Virus

(Bloomberg) --

Jarir Marketing Co., a stationary and electronics retailer in Saudi Arabia, sees an opportunity to open as many as five stores this year and raise market share despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“Traffic has come down but basket size has come up,” Chairman Muhammad Al-Agil said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.

Most retailers in Saudi Arabia had to shut shops following government guidelines to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Jarir Marketing closed most of its stores for 22 days and some for “much longer.”

Online sales rose six-fold in the second quarter. They “will come down as we go on, but still it’s going to be much larger than last year,” the chairman said.

Saudis Wonder If Virus Will End Another Hallmark of the Kingdom

He also said:

• “We most probably will be on the higher side of dividend payout and our capex is moving well and we have a lot of cash and we feel very good with that.”
• “Because of distanced working and distanced learning, we have seen a huge surge in PC and laptops as well as mobiles” demand.
• “Some of the declines were mostly in office supplies and books but otherwise most of the other departments have really grown nicely.”

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