Beltone Financial Holding announced Wednesday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Beltone Venture Capital, has acquired a 20% stake in ariika, a direct-to-consumer, digital-led home and decor brand.
The investment was made through a Series A equity funding round. Ariika plans to use the funding to expand its regional presence across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, starting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The company also plans to further expand its omnichannel go-to-market strategy and develop its technological infrastructure and digital design capabilities by capitalizing on advanced AR tools.
Ariika is transforming a $20bn home and decor industry in MENA, which is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of c.10% per annum. The company is consolidating a fragmented market and creating an inspirational digital-led home destination focusing on superior product assortment, reasonable price points, and unmatched online and offline customer experience.
Ali Mokhtar, CEO of Beltone Venture Capital, said: “We are excited to support ariika and its leadership team to achieve their vision and lead the home and decor sector in the MENA Region. Ariika is considered the most promising company within an encouraging sector that commanded strong operational performance over the last couple of years. With ariika’s ambitious expansion plans set in place, the company is well positioned to become the leading supplier of home and décor products to all households in the region.”
Khaled Attallah, CEO and co-founder of ariika said: “With our relentless focus on compelling product, customer service and profitable growth, we continue to outperform our peers, gain market share and distinguish ourselves as one of the fastest growing digital-first, design-led, home brands. We are a value-based brand focusing on our people, customers, quality, and profits.”
He added that their focus is to build a sustainable model that is operationally profitable and growing disproportionately with solid unit economics.
“Our expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents a big milestone for us as we are well positioned to replicate our success story in such a strategic market with a significant potential upside for the business and provide great value for our Saudi customers.”
