Online marketplace’s sales volume tripled over past four years
MENA’s e-commerce already hit AED 24.65-billion mark for 2017
‘letstango.com’, a UAE-based online marketplace, has announced that its estimated total sales is expected to grow by more than three to five times this year as compared to the growth it posted in 2016. The company’s upbeat attitude shows that its expected positive performance will represent a strategic portion of the MENA region’s growing e-commerce sector, which has posted continuous growth over the last few years as well.
The company continues to record a strong financial performance and steadily growing transactions. The premier online platform’s sales volume has tripled over the past four years, with its number of visitors and orders growing five and eight times, respectively. The future outlook for the online retail marketplace still remains positive, in spite of challenges that include rising site traffic, products, orders, and conversions.
Commenting on this forecast, Alex Tchablakian, Operations Manager, ‘letstango.com’, said: “Our impressive growth over the past years has been the result of our relentless commitment to enhance the experience and protection of sellers and buyers alike, as well as offer a wide array of relevant products to consumers. As part of our long-term approach to carve a niche in the global e-commerce sector, we will continue to focus on areas that will catapult our market positioning and cement our presence as a major player in the global arena. We are presently embarking on an expansion plan to achieve higher profitability and successfully accomplish our business growth strategy.”
To fund its comprehensive expansion plan, ‘letstango.com’ is eyeing an additional AED 14.72 million in capital for a 16 per cent equity stake at a pre-money valuation of AED 77.28 million. The price-to-sales multiple is 2.6 times. Investment rounds in similar early-stage companies in the region have been within the range of 3 to 5 times price-to-sales ratio.
According to ‘letstango.com’, the extra capital will be utilized in the next year to fund numerous key projects, including investments in iOS and Android apps and development of the Arabic version of its website. A big chunk of the money will also go to brand-building and marketing initiatives; establishing a wider and deeper core management, operations and procurement team; and creating the needed infrastructure to support its entry to the Saudi market in the fourth quarter of this year. Through the funds, the online marketplace is eyeing merchant empanelment, rapid stock-keeping unit (SKU) growth, and improved supply chain and delivery logistics services as well.