DUBAI: Dubai’s Majid Al-Futtaim, the Middle East operator of French retailer Carrefour, is hiring 200 people as it rolls out an ambitious strategy to expand its digital and e-commerce operations, its chief executive said.
Majid Al-Futtaim, which in June acquired the franchise owner of Geant supermarkets in the Gulf, is bringing data scientists and engineers from Silicon Valley to make best use of its data, CEO Alain Bejjani said in a telephone interview.
Dubai’s retail sector has been slow to embrace data science compared with regional counterparts, but the recent acquisition of Dubai online retailer Souq.com by Amazon.com Inc. may push businesses to think about how to expand online.
“Technology is the currency of the future,” Bejjani said. “People need to understand why data is important and basically how can data help us ... do better business.”
The strategy is already bearing fruit for Majid Al-Futtaim, which has 7.5 million uniquely identified customers in the UAE alone.
In its Carrefour stores for instance the company crunched data related to its biscuit assortments. “We discovered a number of counter-intuitive insights, that when we implemented them they had a very big impact on productivity,” he said.
“We even discovered that there was one specific biscuit brand that actually had a big impact of people walking out of the store if they don’t find (that brand).
“The biscuit brand wasn’t highly promoted by the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies or the suppliers, and typically our people wouldn’t buy it, so they wouldn’t have it on the shelves as much as they should.”
Majid Al-Futtaim, which holds exclusive rights to the Carrefour franchise in 38 markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, according to its website, plans to take Carrefour in the United Arab Emirates online by mid 2018, and across its other territories in the next 24 months, he said.
UAE retailer Majid Al-Futtaim seeks data scientists to capture growth
UAE retailer Majid Al-Futtaim seeks data scientists to capture growth
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Closing Bell: Saudi main index rises to close at 10,912
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, gaining 93.86 points, or 0.87 percent, to close at 10,912.18.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index stood at SR3.03 billion ($809 million), with 230 stocks advancing and 29 declining.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also gained 29.13 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 23,442.91, as 43 stocks advanced and 25 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index added 9.48 points, or 0.65 percent, to end the session at 1,466.52.
Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Co. was the best-performing stock of the day, with its share price surging 8.55 percent to SR11.94.
Other top performers included CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., which rose 6.33 percent to SR23.50, and BAAN Holding Group Co., whose shares climbed 6.06 percent to SR2.10.
United International Holding Co. recorded the steepest decline, falling 2.34 percent to SR146.20.
SEDCO Capital REIT Fund also saw its share price drop 2.17 percent to SR6.77, while Saudi Manpower Solutions Co. declined 1.58 percent to SR5.60.
On the corporate front, Saudi Electricity Co. announced the completion of a US dollar-denominated senior unsecured sukuk issuance under its international sukuk program, offered to eligible investors in Saudi Arabia and globally.
According to a Tadawul statement, the company completed the issuance of a three-tranche sukuk with maturities of three, six and 10 years, raising an aggregate $2.4 billion. The sukuk will be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.
Saudi Electricity Co. closed the session at SR14.09, down 0.57 percent.
Najran Cement Co. said it has secured a mid-term, Shariah-compliant loan of SR50 million from Saudi National Bank to support subsidiary expansion. A bourse filing said the financing will be repaid over five years in semi-annual instalments, with a six-month grace period.
Najran Cement Co. ended the session at SR6.59, up 0.92 percent.
Almarai Co. announced its consolidated financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, reporting a net profit of SR2.45 billion, up 6.2 percent year on year.
According to a Tadawul statement, the increase was driven by higher revenue growth, disciplined cost control, an improved revenue mix and lower funding costs.
Almarai Co. closed at SR43.60, up 0.97 percent.
