Launched in 2016 as an online food delivery startup with much scope and ambition, Jahez began its operations headquartered in Riyadh looking to disrupt the Kingdom’s on-demand service landscape in ways that were until then deemed impossible. The founders, who were and continue to be great believers in Saudi ingenuity, drew from the Kingdom’s increasingly impressive wealth of scientific and technological knowhow and talent to set the stage for a pioneering online business venture that would turbocharge the MENA region’s internet entrepreneurship potential. Early investments in ICT resources and capabilities in a rapidly changing technological environment helped Jahez venture out with confidence that its vision to be the region’s most loved lifestyle platform would be realized in a matter of years. These investments included in-house expertise in smartphone application development, on-demand services, last-mile delivery, cloud servers and other factors that would bring to consumers an unparalleled digital shopping experience par excellence. With a steady stream of headline-grabbing acquisitions and expansions made during the intervening period between inception and the historic USD 2.4 billion. IPO, Jahez had cemented itself as a major player in the sector, already recognized as the Kingdom’s fastest growing platform by market share and the first homegrown unicorn to go public.
The eponymous ‘Jahez’ smartphone platform, still the Group’s best-known online platform, connects customers, restaurants and drivers in a sophisticated digital solution designed to deliver its services in the fastest possible time, with unmatched convenience, reliability, and efficiency. Under this vertical, in addition to the main Jahez platform are a number of internal-facing products, such as operation panels developed to enhance team efficiencies, along with other consumer products, such as the Prime subscription service, that offers free delivery for a selected base of merchants serving different consumer segments. On 14 December 2021, Jahez established a legal entity in the Kingdom of Bahrain as limited liability company named Jahez International Company for Information Systems Technology with a capital of 50,000 Bahraini dinars. Jahez engaged in retail sales via the internet. Commercial operations in Bahrain began on 26 June 2022, penetrating the market with a distinctive delivery experience. On 1 August 2022, Jahez established a legal entity in the Kuwait as a one-person limited liability company named Jahez International Company for Wholesale and Retail Trading with a capital of 100,000 Kuwaiti dinars. Started in Q2-2023, Jahez’s commercial expansion in Kuwait was comprehensive, covering residential areas from inception and later extending to northern areas, achieving nearly 90% coverage of the population.
PIK was the Group’s first stop in its diversification drive. Tapping into increased demand for online delivery services outside the food and beverages service, the Group expanded its delivery service beyond the restaurant segment, platforming pharmacies and local retail merchants with deliveries routed directly from them. PIK is a quick or q-commerce platform that connects customers to merchants located within a 100-kilometre radius in cities and suburbs alike. Products sold on PIK range from clothing, cosmetics, footwear, and electronics, among other things, representing some of the best-known local and international brands, with deliveries made within two to three hours. From order selection and offering to payment options and last-mile delivery, PIK platform covers the entirety of the digital shopping process, with a searchable and filterable assortment of product and merchant categories, e-payment services, live order-tracking, direct customer support, a return policy and other features. Merchants also benefit from the app’s high-tech features which allow them to observe and identify customer trends and behavior patterns. They may also utilize the marketing opportunities provided by the app and increase brand awareness. Both Jahez and PIK share delivery partners and non-food orders are typically scheduled outside food rush hours
In Q3 2022, Jahez Group established Blu Store, a joint venture with Al Hilal Club with the Group owning 51% of the business. Blu is a platform specializing in selling and marketing sports related products and services representing different leading brands. The Blu Store platform was launched for customers to purchase products that are delivered to their doorsteps within hours in a hybrid of on-demand and e-commerce models (with worldwide delivery). Al Hilal Club Co holds the remaining 49% stake in the SAR 500,000 venture, with Jahez financing SAR 255,000 of the share capital. Blu was the first interactive app of its kind in the region and was marketed as the Kingdom’s home of all thing’s sports, providing goods, services, and news to both sports professionals and amateurs as well as fans. Customers can also purchase tickets to prominent sporting events through the app.
Logi, launched in Q3 2021, serves as the Group’s wholly owned logistics subsidiary and a market enabler for the Kingdom’s bustling e-commerce and delivery industry. On track to being the market leader in urban last-mile delivery, Logi provides strong fleet of Saudi freelancers and non-Saudi permanent delivery partners first to Jahez group companies and then to the wider e-commerce and postal logistics sectors at competitive rates. Logi is a centralized platform that supports the Group with all of its logistical and operational needs, synergizing the Group’s operations. The subsidiary bridges the gap between customers and merchants. Logi’s services are available round the clock with short delivery times, multiple pickups, and delivery tracking as its unique selling point, for both food deliveries and business-to-business deliveries. Low operational costs, scalability and consistently high quality are among its other salient features. The subsidiary’s revenue streams include delivery fees, pre-paid distance-based pricing for e-commerce merchants, and annual and monthly subscription fees. Other revenue streams include branding, package delivery, manpower renting.
Co Limited Company is centered around end to-end commercial kitchens available for restaurants that deliver food via digital platforms as well as cloud shelving or dark store facilities for our e-commerce platforms including those owned by the Group. Co equips commercial kitchen spaces and leases them to restaurants that only serve customers who deliver their food online, with the exception of a few locations that also offer pick-up options. As of 2023, the business also provides cloud-shelving services to merchant partners, mainly focused on chocolates and cold beverages, to accelerate their reach to clients. Co provides equipment to restaurants in the form of cooking and meal preparation facilities and other resources saving them considerable overhead costs including rent and utilities costs as well as valuable time, resources they can redirect to more productive endeavors facilitating growth. Though these restaurants forego dine-in services, the savings made by investing in a cloud kitchen service are demonstrably worth the switch and lead to a significant rise in the volume of orders. The shelving arm of the business can be used by any merchant partner of PIK or Blu that lacks the physical space to store their goods. At present, Co is one of a handful of players that offer both cloud kitchen and dark store facilities at once.
The Group’s investment arm, Red Color was established in Q1 2021 with a view to delivering the best value to all stakeholders, targeting investments that would maximize the Group’s corporate value. This would be achieved through strategic partnerships that add value and align with the existing solutions offered, financial returns generating future gains or minimizing costs, and the acceleration of entry into new verticals. Red Color pursues inorganic growth opportunities through investments in, or acquisitions of emerging startups and technologies that we see as complementary to our business. The company invests in technology opportunities and in industries that already employ the Group’s existing assets of customers, merchants and delivery partners to leverage its position. These industries include automated marketing, supply chain and fintech solutions, direct-to consumer services and lifestyle improvement services. Red Color seeks to boost returns for the Group through investments that contribute to growth, primarily by acquiring new customers, providing entry into new markets, and increasing community engagement. Acquisitions and corporate venture capital (CVC) investments are sought in five major sectors: logistics, e-commerce, merchants’ ecosystem, FinTech, and AdTech. The subsidiary aims to reduce costs for the Group by way of operational cost savings, time saving and accelerating expansion using less capital.
In January 2023, the Group completed the acquisition of Marn Business Information Technology, a leading business digital solutions provider, offering multiple modern technical services that support merchants in their growth. This acquisition further enhanced the Group’s offerings, leading to improved services to various stakeholders, and helped merchants build their own unique ecosystems by developing systems through various digital solutions such as point of sale systems that work in conjunction with different service providers and partnerships. The total value of the transaction amounted to SAR 60 million, made with the aim to expand the Group’s business base through acquisitions to capitalize on the growing opportunities in the industry.
