The Azrieli Group announces the closure of its trading site, Azrieli.com. About 70 employees are employed on the site, most of whom will be laid off, with Azrieli stating, "Unfortunately, we are forced to part with most of them, and some will be integrated into the group's activities." The site will continue to operate until the end of the month.
The site incurred losses of approximately 300 million shekels during its years of operation under the Azrieli Group. The group began operating it in 2016, aiming to generate complementary activities for stores on various websites.
The Azrieli Group explained that "the decision to close was made based on the group's assessments, as the e-commerce market in Israel is still underdeveloped, with low penetration rates and a significant presence of global websites, in addition to local regulations that favor global sites at the expense of local sites (such as exemption from VAT for international sites only)."
They further added, "Over the years, the group's e-commerce activity has undergone significant transformation and adjustments have been made to tailor the product offerings to the Israeli consumer's taste, and all technological infrastructures have been rebuilt. However, these efforts did not meet a sufficiently large market that justifies further investments in the field. The group will continue to invest in digital and innovative areas and will leverage the technological and digital knowledge it has accumulated. Mr. Daniel Korn, currently the CEO of the trading site, will lead the activity."