Alsulaiman Group considers listing subsidiary on Tadawul, says CEO

Saud Alsulaiman, CEO of Alsulaiman Group 

Alsulaiman Group (ASG) is considering listing one of its subsidiaries on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), CEO Saud Alsulaiman told Argaam in an exclusive.

ASG’s business activities cover three segments: Omni-channel Retail, through brands such as IKEA; platforms, such as Livspace; logistics services through Flow and Salasa, and the real-estate sector through Ehteraf.

ASG holds IKEA franchise in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It owns three IKEA showrooms in Saudi Arabia, and will open the fourth one in Riyadh. It also expanded presence in Madinah, Aseer, and other cities in the Kingdom.

The group’s investment in the real estate industry via Ehteraf focuses on empowering the retail business, in terms of expanding and opening new IKEA showrooms, or helping other firms expand and grow in the retail sector.

ASG is also planning to invest in a carbon economy firm, the CEO said, underlining the importance of sustainability among many consumers in the retail sector, particularly with regard to product return, which represent 30% of the fashion industry. This, in turn, impacts profit margins.

The business model of this firm will depend on the ways to benefit from the return process and used products through creating a secondary market for such products, and building platforms to sell them. ASG will initially operate in specific segments, then break into other activities, such as furniture.

The top executive further said Flow, which operates in the local and regional logistics sector, focuses on last mile delivery operations and manages delivery business at IKEA. It also has business with United Electronics Co. (eXtra), SACO and Noon.

He added that Russia-Ukraine crisis may have an impact on supply chain recovery, expecting an improvement in the coming months.