Digitally enabled secondhand market for furniture in Saudi Arabia
Venture Building
Net Positive Labs was engaged by the consortium to build this venture from conception through to launch, that could achieve these objectives. We developed a digital platform and integrated to a sophisticated backend operation to provide the best user experience for both buyers and seller.
Furniture is the number one least recycled item in a household and a global leading contributor to landfill. This is no different in Saudi Arabia, where furniture contributes significantly to the more than 15 million tonnes of solid produced daily. It is estimated that more than 80% of disposed furniture ends up in landfill when a large proposition is of high enough quality or condition to be reused, refurbished, or recycled. Considering the carbon cost of producing new furniture and the impact of landfill on the environment, this cannot last.
Net Positive Labs worked with a consortia of 13 prominent business leaders to design, build, and launch the first specialised secondhand market dedicated to furniture reuse in the region.
We undertook a phased approach from ideation through to launch in just over a year. We worked closely with the consortium steering committee led by Saud Al Sulaiman (CEO of Al Sulaiman Holdings & founder of Ikea in KSA and Bahrain) and Hamad Al Dewalia (former Vice-Minister & local expert on CSR) and supported by other distinguished members. The steering committee provided us with valued expertise, wisdom, and guidance, and represented the interests of all other consortia members.
Net Positive Labs included all key components of venture building in this project: Venture strategy, project management, technical product development, operational model development, marketing management, branding, recruitment, governance, and fundraising. We executed 100s of activities within these components, iterating the venture over the following key phases:
Opportunity assessment including global & local research, analysis, and ideation leading the creation of a business case and a roadmap for testing & building;
Proof of concept study with in-market validation tests and operational feasibility analyses;
MVP including the development of a custom tech platform; tested operational model and developed first partnerships; first company brand, marketing channels, content, assets, and a launch plan; Established an entity, governance structure with the consortium, and venture board; Recruited a CEO and first employees & prepared them for handover; Prepared a budget for the company to operate smoothly with an 18 month runway;
Ongoing launch support providing CEO with strategic guidance, tech & product support, and sit on the new venture board with selected members from the consortium and beyond.
The final venture is unique in the region. It is the only platform to provide buyers and sellers of used furniture a seamless experience similar to buying new. The venture integrates B2B models and has engaged various ecosystem partners (logistics, refurbishers, local charities, etc.). We developed a platform that embeds e-commerce best practices, a custom made sell side with reverse SKU creation, a super admin dashboard to manage inventory and orders, and integrates with various third parties (logistics, tax authorities, etc.)
In addition, we developed a unique governance structure enabling the CEO to enjoy a relatively important level of independent execution whilst keeping the board central to the decision making process and overall venture strategy and vision.
We are thrilled that, to date, the venture has exceeded many of its initial targets and is already looking to grow into new regions across the Kingdom. Although we are still in an early stage, the venture has already enabled residents across all regions of KSA to buy and sell used furniture to and already offsetting tonnes of CO2 from producing and importing new furniture. We are growing steadily month-on-month with ambitious goals to scale our impact across the country and become fully self sustainable.
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