Livspace partners with Alsulaiman Group for Middle East foray; invests $50M to expand in MENA

Omni-channel home interior and renovation platform Livspacehas announced that it is expanding into the Middle East with a strategic JV with the Alsulaiman Group (ASG), Ikea’s operating partner in the region.

The company stated its maiden joint venture built on top of the home improvement industry's only technology platform, digital supply chain and most trusted managed-marketplace, Livspace will aim to capitalise on the vast opportunities in home interiors and renovation segment in the MENA region starting with KSA. 

Both Livspace and ASG have invested about $50 million to fuel regional growth and become market leaders in the segment across multiple markets in MENA. Livspace is looking to expand across 80 new cities globally starting with the APAC geography over the next 18-24 months. 

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Anuj Srivastava, CEO & Founder, Livspace said:

“We are thrilled to expand our operations in the Middle East with a strategic partnership of the caliber of Alsulaiman Group. As consumers move towards organised and trusted digital brands - sellers, suppliers, vendors, and brands adopt digital platforms. Livspace will rapidly continue to scale its business model across multiple regions and new markets across the globe starting with the APAC geography."

The JV further plans on strengthening the team by investing in top talent across levels while also aiming to onboard over a thousand design and home improvement professionals partners in the region by 2022. The company said the JV will aim to bring trusted home interiors and renovation solutions to homeowners, enable thousands of small and fragmented design and home improvement professionals to grow their business, and create the largest, most organised digital supply chain for the home interiors and renovation industry in the region. 

Anuj added, "Given our technology prowess, deep understanding of the supply fundamentals and the ready launch and scale template, we today dominate the market in the high growth India and Singapore markets. Our platform enables us to explore JV models to quickly expand our services in both new and existing markets. We are excited about our partnership with a trusted partner like ASG to provide customers with an enhanced yet standardised experience through our proprietary technology platform, which brings together trusted design partners and home improvement professionals, streamlining the home renovation process.”

The company stated it's global experience, combined with the strong legacy of Alsulaiman Group will aid the brand in delivering world-class home interior and renovation solutions across the Middle East. ASG is expanding its range of products and services through investing and partnering in innovative companies and startups that bring unique concepts to the region.

The company stated Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiatives are sparking growth in home ownership and a wider array of residential formats - villas to high-rise apartment living in addition to the speeding up of the digital transformation – which underlines the need for quality home interior design and execution.

In addition to delivering top-notch modular interior solutions, Livspace is also focusing on new mobile applications, AI, ML retail technology and visualisation solutions for the home improvement industry.

Saud Alsulaiman, Alsulaiman Group CEO, said:

“This partnership with Livspace will allow us to expand the scope of the customer experience from the beginning of the design of the home to the end of implementation, in an innovative and unique experience to turn the dreams of homeowners into reality."

"The companies of Alsulaiman Group "Ikea, Flow, Ehteraf, Salasa, and other emerging investments'' will continue to grow as an integrated ecosystem to enhance customers' lives through better experiences whether they access to our products online or through stores.”

Through its partnership with Livspace, Alsulaiman’s customers in the region will have access to home design ideas in designated studios and on the tip of their fingers through an online technology platform, combined with execution matched with a built-in ecommerce concept for materials and furniture elements.