THIS $3B SAUDI BOOKSTORE THRIVED

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Promoted product

Jarir Bookstore

Why it worked

The video tells a compelling underdog story of a business succeeding against significant societal challenges (low literacy), highlighting its growth and diversification. The use of historical footage and clear financial milestones makes the narrative engaging and aspirational.

Summary

This video chronicles the success of Jarir Bookstore, a Saudi company that began in 1974 selling second-hand books and art in a country with low literacy rates. It expanded into electronics and school supplies, went public in 2003, and saw significant growth, especially online during the pandemic, becoming a major publisher and retailer.

Structure

1Founding a small library in a low-literacy country
2Expanding product offerings and formalizing the business
3Capitalizing on national investment in education
4Going public and experiencing rapid online growth
5

Original caption

How Did Jarir Succeed When 60% Of Saudis Couldn’t Read? 🇸🇦 📚 #jarirbookstore #saudi #ksa #founderstory #billionaire @Jarirbookstore

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Product placement

Jarir Bookstore (Jarir): Acts - a bookstore that sells books, electronics, and school supplies. Its revenue reached almost $3 billion by 2024 and it became the world's largest Arabic publisher. Removing it would fundamentally change the video's narrative. THIRD NETWORK: Appears - a watermark/logo present throughout the video. Removing it would not change the video's content.

On-screen text

THIRD $3 BILLION THIS $3B SAUDI BOOKSTORE THRIVED THIRD WHEN OVER HALF OF THE COUNTRY COULDN'T READ. THIRD IN 1974, THIRD ABDULRAHMAN AL-AGIL OPENED A TINY LIBRARY IN RIYADH'S MALAZ, THIRD SELLING SECONDHAND BOOKS AND EXPAT ART. THIRD HIS FAMILY SAW PROMISE IN IT, THIRD EVEN THOUGH ABOUT 60% OF THE COUNTRY COULDN'T READ. THIRD THEN ONE OF THE AL-AGIL SONS THIRD AND LONDON THIRD AND RETURNED WITH A NEW VISION. THIRD HE DIDN'T WANT TO SELL JUST BOOKS, THIRD BUT ALSO EXPAND TO ELECTRONICS, THIRD AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES. THIRD IN 1979, HE FORMALLY INCORPORATED JARIR AND THIRD THE TIMING CLICKED. SAUDI ARABIA POURED MONEY AND JARIR SUPPLIED IT. THIRD THROUGH THE 80S AND 90S, THIRD IT GREW ONE BRANCH AT A TIME. IN 2003, THIRD IT BECAME THE FIRST BOOKSTORE ON THE SAUDI STOCK EXCHANGE. THIRD ONLINE SALES JUMPED SIXFOLD IN A SINGLE QUARTER. THIRD BY 2024, REVENUE REACHED ALMOST $3B. THIRD DOLLARS. JARIR BECAME THE WORLD'S LARGEST ARABIC PUBLISHER, THIRD TRANSLATING OVER 6,000 THIRD BOOKS INTO ARABIC. TODAY, JARIR HAS 68 BOOKSTORES THIRD ACROSS SAUDI, BAHRAIN, THIRD QATAR, KUWAIT, THIRD AND THE UAE.

Transcript

This $3 billion Saudi book store thrived when over half of the country couldn't read. In 1974, Abdul Rahman Al-Aril opened a tiny library in Riyadh's Medina selling second-hand books and ex-pat art. His family saw promise in it, even though about 60% of the country couldn't read. Then one of the Al-Alajill sons traveled to New York and London and returned with a new vision. He didn't want to sell just books, but also expand to electronics and office and school supplies. In 1979, he formally incorporated Jari and started building. The timing clicked Saudi Arabia poured money into education and Jari supplied it. Through the 80s and 90s, it grew one branch at a time. In 2003, it became the first bookstore on the South Sooy stock exchange. When Covid hit, online sales jumped six-fold in a single quarter. By 2024, revenue reached almost $3 billion dollars. Jari became the world's largest Arab publisher, translating over $6,000 books into Arab. Today, Jari has 68 book stores across Saudi, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE.