Regional eCommerce firm and direct to consumer enabler CNNB has reported growth of 500% over the past 12 months.
Established by citrussTV founder Nicolas Bruylants and former citrussTV COO Charbel Nasr, CNNB manages direct-to-consumer (DTC) operations for global and regional brands, including household names such as L’Oreal, Kerastase, Garnier and Swiss Arabian Perfumes.
The announcement comes as GCC online retail is expected to surge by over 20% this year, according to research by Kearney Middle East.
Speaking about CNNB’s business performance, co-founder and CEO Nicolas Bruylants, said: “Direct-to-consumer online retail should be the eCommerce strategy of choice in MENA. While Amazon and noon have a strong foothold in the marketplace sector, brands have realised that there are a lot of benefits in reaching their customers directly, such as controlling customer data, differentiation, and improved margins.
“The challenge is that many businesses don’t have the necessary eCommerce expertise to do so. Rather than hire a team of in-house e-commerce experts, businesses come to CNNB to manage their online strategy. As the online direct-to-consumer experts, we help brands grow and scale their online operations. Our business growth is a result of the success stories of our partners.”
CNNB conservatively estimates it will expand its revenue by another 250% by the end of 2022. This year, CNNB plans to further invest in its proprietary technology, onboard more than 10 new brands and set-up in Kuwait.
Direct-To-Consumer eCommerce, or DTC eCommerce, is the online marketing and sale of products directly from a brand to new and existing customers without any intermediary channels such as marketplaces, middlemen/distributors, or third-party retailers.
Currently, CNNB operates across the entire GCC and has managed brand centres in UAE, KSA and Egypt. The business has signalled its intent to scale operations across the Middle East by securing further partnerships with quality brands.
CNNB operates a range of services to help businesses including warehousing, stock planning and inventory management, distribution, order management, logistics and shipping coordination, management of payments, customer returns, chargebacks, customer support and brand marketing optimisation.
By partnering with CNNB, brands benefit from having control over customer experience, frictionless online sales for brands and consumers, and access to real-time customer data. It can help brands to scale operations across the region and globally, including maximization and optimization of sales channels to drive greater revenues.