The Riyadh-based chain managed to boost earnings despite being impacted by a drop in school supplies sales linked to the switch to home learning DUBAI: Retailer Jarir Marketing reported a 6.3 percent rise in first quarter profits to SR276.6 million ($73.7 million) driven by smartphone and computer sales. The Riyadh-based chain managed to boost earnings despite being impacted by a drop in school supplies sales linked to the switch to home learning, it said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday. The stock gained about 0.5 percent in early trade. The company, known popularly as Jarir Bookstore, reported an 8.1 percent increase in overall sales to SR2.53 billion. It said that despite the negative impact of the pandemic on school and office supplies, other sectors helped to improve the overall performance of the group over the quarter. Jarir was established in Riyadh in 1974 as a small bookshop and expanded in the following decades into other retail segments such as toys, electronics and office supplies.