Office supplies platform Stationery.ae launches in Dubai to beat brick-and-mortar stores
Stationery.ae, a new graduate of the i360 accelerator in Dubai,
launched yesterday to provide stationery and office supplies to the
UAE market via an online store.
The online retailer aims to serve what its founders say is a market
worth a total of 1.6 billion AED; Stationery.ae hopes to capture at
least 10% of the local market, which is comprised of 800,000 school
children, 100,000 university students, and 240,000 small businesses
in the country, says cofounder and CEO Walied Albasheer.
By supplying core products like school and office stationery,
printer paper, toner and cartridges, tech accessories, hard disks,
flash memory, and mobile accessories, the company hopes to offer
better prices than its brick-and-mortar competitors. Yet because
the company sources from “top tier” suppliers, it’s able to sell
for a 30-40% margin, Albasheer says.
Indeed, operating a brick-and-mortar office supply company has
become difficult today thanks to the growth of online retail.
Staples has seen its
profits fall thanks to tough competition from lower cost online
retailers like Amazon, especially as B2B service AmazonSupply
grows, potentially undercutting Staples’ own B2B business, which
comprises around
60% of its revenues.
Stationery.ae will also pursue B2B partnerships, aiming to generate
around 20-25% of its revenue by working with small and medium-sized
businesses and education institutions throughout the UAE, says
Albasheer. Another segment that the business will expand into is
books, beginning with educational books and games. Thus far, the
company is in talks with publishers from the Sharjah Book Fair to
offer titles that speak to readers' interests.
Yet rather than come into direct competition with companies like
Jamalon and
Qordoba Books, which both sell books and e-books online,
Stationery.ae may partner with those companies to either source
through them or sell via their channels. “Books are value-added
products, not core products,” Albasheer explains. Next, he plans to
expand the company to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and North Africa.
Albasheer, who is 38, came up with the idea for the startup when he
realized that his three daughters couldn’t find good supplies as
they prepared to head back to school. He then brought Wifaq Ahmed,
a 22-year-old university student, on board as the Chief User
Experience Officer, and 36-year-old Abdulrahman Al Hashemi, an old
friend who works in debt collection, on board as the Chief
Commercial Officer.
After applying to and gaining acceptance at the i360 accelerator,
the team won the inaugural Pitch for Investment competition at the
SME Congree and Expo earlier this month, earning a US $5,000
management training course provided by IIR Middle East and two
Business Class Flights from the event's Official Carrier, Etihad
Airways.
Stationery.ae and other i360 graduates from the accelerator will
next pitch for investment at an upcoming demo day coming on January
18th.
Winning mentorship has been far more important to the founders than
securing seed money alone, Albasheer says. “We've always suffered
with finding the right mentorship. When we applied to i360, we
realized the value of being involved in growing an entire
ecosystem.”