With more than 20 million products available every day compared to the average Dubai shopping mall's 1.5 million products, Noon.com is set to be a major game changer in the Middle East.
The $1bn e-commerce site is set to go live in January, with distribution centers in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai. The project is a joint venture between Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and 60 Gulf investors led by Dubai business magnate Mohamed Alabbar.
"We're turning the e-commerce environment in Middle East upside down," saidAlabbar said at a media launch on Sunday, according to Arabian Business, "and then we're going to turn it upside down again in another six months."
Noon.com's warehouse in Dubai will be the size of 60 football pitches, Alabbar said.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund will be the major backer of the e-commerce site, contributing 50 percent to the initial investment. The other 50 percent will be owned by Alabbar and other investors.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was spotted with Alabbar at the Dubai Mall on Friday, leading to speculation that he is involved in the launch of the e-commerce site. But, earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Amazon, a U.S. based e-commerce giant, was considering a bid on a 30 percent stake of Souq.com, a competing Arab e-commerce website.
Souq.com is the only Arab tech company in the world valued at over $1bn.
Souq.com was founded in 2005 and may be valued at $1.2 billion following the sale of the 30 percent stake in the company. The e-commerce company has often been described as the region's Amazon and is currently the largest online shopping platform in the Arab world. With about 2,500 employees, the site delivers throughout the GCC and Egypt.
But, with Noon.com hailing itself as a "Quantum leap in e-commerce" and with powerful backers behind it, it looks like the e-commerce competition in the region is about to heat up in a big way.
Alabbar's site will initially only cater to the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Still it has ambitious plans for expansion and growth.
"This is going to be on a global scale," Alabbar said, according to The Economic Times.
He also told Arabian Business that the company may aim for an IPO in five to seven years, saying that the plan is to become the region's dominant online retail portal.
Noon.com's homepage says: "When it comes to shopping, it's all about you," suggesting a customer specific shopping experience awaits future users. The site invites users to share their contact information so they can be informed when the e-commerce platform officially comes online.
In July, Alabbar first announced plans of launching the e-commerce site (he called it the Ali Baba of the Middle East, referring to the Chinese ecommerce giant) as well as a social media service, a modern online banking system for the UAE and an online logistics company.