The Battleground: Middle East Intensifies with Cleartrip's acquisition of Flyin.com & Rehlat's Rebranding

Middle East ecommerce, which started its journey with local players like souq.com, Careem, Rehlat, Altayyar Online, and few others, recently saw the entry of global players who’re developing separate ecosystems within the segment. While US ecommerce giant Amazon acquired Souq.com and formed another ‘ecommerce ecosystem’ all together; the recent acquisition of Flyin by Cleartip has confirmed the changing status quo of the Middle East market. With Uber being in talks with Careem, the unicorn of Middle East for merger and the latest being Rehlat repositioning itself with new logo and brand line, the signs of the changing face of the e-commerce of Middle East is evident.

Why the Shift in Middle East Ecommerce?

A deep insight and analysis of the e-commerce of Middle East projects that the combined sales are expected to more than double between 2017 and 2020 and this has driven the focus of business giants to the region. The countries of the Middle East are witnessing tremendous growth and the list is being led by UAE and Saudi Arabia & is closely followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, & Egypt. The main growth drivers include high rates of Internet connectivity among population, which is over 90% in countries such as Bahrain and UAE. Furthermore, more than nine in ten consumers in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia own a smartphone.

Following Cleartrip’s acquisition of Flyin, the largest online travel company based in Saudia Arabia, another Middle East travel giant is also making news. Rehlat, the leading online travel website, has unveiled its new identity with a refreshed new logo and a brand line that echoes it’s mission and vision – “Your Journey Understood”. Celebrating personalized travel services and experiences, the new logo signifies the journey from start to end, and everything in between that Rehlat opens up for travelers from the Middle East & beyond.

During the last few years, Rehlat has grown from a single office to four offices across borders and the team has also expanded across the departments from Product to Marketing to Design & Engineering, so they had to encounter inevitable changes within the organization. The changes have not only increased the diversity and potential of Rehlat but also raised a need for consistency. This is one of the reasons for the new logo and brand line.

One of the other reason for the process of rebranding Rehlat was felt was that the clients, partners and growing team deserved an environment which is coherent and signifies what the organization stands for. The new logo and brand line improve the communication with the 1M+ customers, as they are the fundament of what Rehlat has achieved and what they wish to.

The New Branding and The Story Behind

Rehlat is a brand that believes in a world without borders. In an industry of utter unpredictability, there is a comfort in knowing that a brand understands your individual needs and cultural background. They were looking for a positioning that reflected their vision as a brand - To become the preferred online travel platform for neighboring markets in the Middle East focusing on serving underserved audiences of the region and pushing to develop travel planning to be a comfortable and enjoyable experience.  With this they launched a new brand line - Rehlat, your journey understood and a new logo in association with Beattie + Dane, a leading creative firm based in Kuwait that partners with brands to solve business problems through innovative solutions.

Rehlat understands the customer’s anxieties of travel because they live here too, and take customers’ travel concerns as their own. So what was missing was a travel platform that spoke the same language when it came to travel and met international standard practice of online booking.

To activate this came the need to take a look at our brand identity and find the right way to express our values of respect, dialogue, empathy, and approachability.

Design Thinking – The New Logo

Dana Alhanbali, the Managing Partner at Beattie + Dane, conveys that “The theme for the identity was inspired by one core idea, the infinity sign - symbolizing looking forward, long lasting, no beginning or end and empowerment. Rehlat's new identity in English and Arabic, each have one arc that embraces the word - one is inscribed, and the other is implied.” Executive Creative Director for Beattie + Dane, Anes Al Rayes adds, “Rehlat as a word acts as that missing link to the arc forming a circle that represents a journey with the brand - the kind of relationship they aspire to have with their customers.”

This symbol acts as a metaphor for a journey with the brand - it doesn't end when you book, it continues after you land. The Middle Eastern sunset inspired the color scheme. A gradient of warm hues that are a nod to our region with contrasting shades of deep purple to ground the energy of colors.

Unveiling the refreshed logo, Mr. Bader, the founder of Rehlat says, "The refreshed brand logo reflects our promise to create and deliver the best-customized travel experiences for customers across borders. In the last five years, we have worked towards transforming traveling in the Middle East, and our new logo pays honors to this journey and further lays out a strong base for the future. We are just not a booking platform; we offer more than that – flights, hotels, and travel inspirations. We strongly believe that the refreshed logo and brand line truly embodies these brand facets and represents the journey of Rehlat."

He further adds that “Yes, the appearance has changed and eventually together with the clients, we would evolve even further but what would stay same is the commitment to provide top-notch services that make travel fun and not a task.”

The race has begun with ecommerce officially taking over the Middle East region. Winning in Middle East is about gaining trust and reaching out to a larger customer database who connect with the brand and the values, something all the companies realise as they get their respective arsenals sharpen to come out tops in the long-drawn battle that is the Middle East market.

© Press Release 2018