Saudi Arabia

As in many parts of the world, COVID-19 had a notable impact on tissue and hygiene in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Retail tissue and hygiene performed relatively well due to increased consumer awareness of and demand for cleanliness and hygiene, which ...

Overall AFH tissue and hygiene managed to maintain current value growth in 2020, although it saw the slowest rate of increase for many years. However, the reason for this growth was strong price rises due to the increase in the rate of VAT from 5% to...

In 2020, wipes saw stronger retail volume growth rates in most categories than in 2019, whilst current value sales saw a dynamic increase, due mainly to the rise in VAT from 5% to 15% from July 2020. The main reason for the stronger retail volume ...

In 2020, nappies/diapers/pants saw a slightly stronger retail volume growth rate than seen since the beginning of the review period. Meanwhile, current value growth was in the double-digits due to the rise in the rate of VAT from 5% to 15%. ...

In 2020, sanitary protection saw a slightly slower retail volume growth rate than in other years of the review period, but saw dynamic current value growth due to strong price rises as a result of the increase in the rate of VAT. Unlike most other ...

In 2020, retail adult incontinence saw a slight slowdown in its volume growth rate compared with the previous year, whilst current value growth rocketed due to the rise in the rate of VAT levied. COVID-19 had little impact on this category, as these ...

In 2020, despite maturity retail tissue saw higher retail volume growth than in 2019, along with turning from current value decline to dynamic growth. However, the value increase was almost exclusively due to the rise in the rate of VAT from July ...

In 2020, throughout the COVID-19 upheaval, Ghassan Ahmed Al-Sulaiman Development Co Ltd remained the only company to record a significant value share in self-service cafeterias in Saudi Arabia. The company’s Ikea brand continued to dominate the ...

In 2020, street stalls/kiosks recorded a heavy negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of outlets fell considerably and chained and independent street stalls/kiosks both recorded a dramatic decline in foodservice value sales and the ...

In 2020, as a result of the extending period of national lockdown lasting from March to June, COVID-19 had a distinctly negative impact on full-service restaurants. During the national lockdown period, and to a certain extent beyond the specific ...

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdown measures all types of consumer foodservice outlets suffered from a decline in demand and a huge drop in footfall as outlets around the Kingdom closed their doors and then faced ...

In 2020, cafés/bars was negatively affected across outlets, transactions and foodservice value sales by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures. This is due, in part, to the fact that a large number of chained cafés and chained specialist coffee ...

In 2020, Consumer Foodservice transactions posted a dramatic decline in demand across all categories. This is due to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 crisis which led to the implementation of a lengthy period of national lockdown from March ...

In 2020, as the category faced the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic and strict national lockdown restrictions lasting from March to June, the most successful subcategories in value terms were chained chicken limited-service restaurants followed by ...

Prior to the pandemic, Saudis liked to follow their preferred brands on social media platforms to keep up to date with the latest news, collections, and promotions. Towards the end of the review period, the cost of living rose leaving consumers more ...

In line with the precautionary measures taken by the Saudi government to contain the spread of COVID-19, many private sector companies developed their IT capabilities. This enabled them to provide work-from-home opportunities to reduce the risk of ...

During 2020, all categories of hosiery experienced a sales decline due to the onset of the global pandemic. Consumers had to stay at home and had few opportunities to socialise. Despite the rise of women in employment in the country, sheer hosiery ...

During 2019, expats continued to leave Saudi Arabia due to the Saudization programme. However, the increasing number of Saudi men joining the workforce was supporting demand for menswear due to higher consumption and rising income per household. ...

Cloth face masks witnessed the highest growth in 2020 as the government imposed fines on those failing to wear a mask. From May 2020, people not wearing face masks or failing to adhere to social distancing rules were subject to a SAR1,000 fine. ...

During the initial stages of the pandemic, the Saudi Ministry of Sports suspended all sports activities, all tournaments and competitions while it closed all private sports halls and centres, and venues throughout the Kingdom. This negatively ...