Jarir expects to grow by adding new stores, e-commerce products: Chairman

Muhammad Alagil, Chairman of Jarir Marketing Co.

Jarir Marketing Co.’s growth is expected to continue as it opens new branches and adds more products to e-commerce platforms, which hit SAR 2 billion last year, Chairman Muhammad Alagil told Argaam in a phone call.

For the first time, Jarir's sales exceeded SAR 10 billion in 2023, he added.

Alagil further explained that the profit growth is in line with the change in sales volume and the company's market share. There is intense pressure on profit margins in the mobile devices segment due to fierce competition.

He pointed out that general costs are well maintained and have seen little growth despite the challenges in the market, adding that as long as there is a market share, it is good.

The market share varies by segment as Jarir is the second company by market size in smartphones, while sales of school materials and Arabic and English books constitute about 40% each. However, sales of TVs do not exceed 10% of the total market, the Chairman said.

On the impact of higher interest rates, he stated that Jarir has low debt and maintains a short-term loan rate for operations. Total loans range from zero to SAR 400 million depending on the season, Alagil added.

Meanwhile, he revealed that the company will maintain the dividend ratio between 80% to 100%.

According to data available on Argaam, Jarir’s net profit increased slightly to SAR 973 million by the end of 2023, compared to SAR 969.8 million in 2022.