Cross-border merchants' sales exceeded 100 million yuan in half a year, and SHEIN's summer fashion "three-piece suit" swept the Middle Eastern fashion circle

Recently, a summer swimwear fashion show on a golden beach attracted global attention. Saudi Arabia held the Red Sea Fashion Week, which was mainly for swimwear, for the first time. Models appeared in various fashionable swimwear, changing the traditional image of full-body wrapped and plain robes. It was called a "historic breakthrough". According to the "Status of Saudi Arabia's Fashion Industry (2023 ) " released by the Saudi Fashion Association, economic growth and population expansion will continue to promote the development of Saudi Arabia's fashion industry. It is expected that retail sales in Saudi Arabia's fashion market will increase by 48 % from 2021 to 2025 , reaching 32 billion US dollars. Behind the bold style of the fashion swimwear show, the relatively certain signal is that the Middle East market represented by Saudi Arabia is further opening its doors to the world.

The reporter learned from the cross-border e-commerce platform S HEIN that the Middle East market has become a new growth engine for Chinese manufacturing going overseas this summer. In line with the trend of the "four major industries" (clothing, accessories, sports, and consumer electronics) of the summer economy reported by many media, the "Middle East fashion three-piece suits" such as banquet dresses, gorgeous jewelry sets, and quiet luxury men's clothing have become the most popular online shopping favorites among Middle Eastern consumers. The prices of these clothing accessories are significantly higher than those of ordinary online shopping products. Many dresses and jewelry worth hundreds of dollars are very popular among consumers in the Middle East market on the S HEIN website.

The young population structure, rapid penetration of the Internet, and strong consumer power all point to the "Middle East fever". The increasingly open market environment and accelerated transformation of the diversified economy have allowed abundant funds and products to quickly flow into the Middle East market, bringing new blue ocean opportunities to Chinese brands and businesses.

Young people in the Middle East who have the ability to spend money love to shop online

People living in the Middle East can clearly feel that Chinese brands and companies have become more and more present in recent years: large advertisements of Huawei, Xiaomi, BYD and other companies can often be seen on the busy streets of Dubai and Saudi Arabia; the logos of Midea and Gree are printed on the air conditioners of many buildings; and on the Chinatown of Dubai Mall, which opened this year, Haidilao Hotpot, Lanzhou Ramen, and Happy Lemon and other catering brands have lit up their signs. Online, local young people also love to enjoy the fun of fashion shopping on S HEIN .

According to relevant people engaged in the research of the Middle East market, with the in-depth cooperation in infrastructure construction, the scramble for layout by science and technology enterprises such as the Internet and new energy, and the recent cross-border e-commerce boom in the Middle East, this "golden land" is being developed by more and more companies to realize its market potential. Local e-commerce represented by Noon is rising rapidly, and global established e-commerce companies such as Amazon are also accelerating their construction. Cross-border e-commerce companies with more development momentum, such as S HEIN , AliExpress, and Tik Tok Shop , have also expanded their considerable market share in the Middle East market.

S HEIN entered the Middle East market as early as 2015 , and its Dubai office began localized market operations in 2016. While many Chinese companies and brands are still trying to find ways to open the door to the Middle East market, S HEIN has accumulated a wide range of local users and social media fans, and has been ranked among the top three in the Middle East App Store shopping application rankings for many years. In addition to innovative marketing activities and frequent cooperation with local celebrities, S HEIN has become an Internet "fashion landmark" and popular among young fashion consumer groups in the Middle East.

( S HEIN appeared in Dubai's large-scale local shopping festival)

SHEIN 's bet on the high growth potential of the Middle East market points to the high-quality customer base that is young, wealthy, and loves to "buy, buy, buy". According to the latest research statistics from KPMG, there are more than 20 economies in the Middle East , with a population of nearly 500 million, with an average age of 25 to 30 years old . Among them, the population under 30 years old in Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounts for 40% or even 50%; and the mature infrastructure environment of the Internet has also provided fertile ground for the development of e-commerce. The number of Internet users in Iran, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE and other countries exceeds half, and the vast majority of them have the habit of shopping online, and fashion clothing is the most popular star category in their online consumption.

As big shoppers who love gold and silver start to shift their consumption scenarios online, more and more Chinese merchants are looking forward to tapping into the Middle East through SHEIN and unveiling the veil of this land.

Targeting the Middle East, Chinese overseas brands successfully break through through SHEIN

Compared with the pursuit of refinement and elegance by European and American fashion people, the preference for bright colors in Southeast Asia, and the simple and fresh taste in Japan and South Korea, the aesthetic taste of Middle Eastern fashion consumers is more "noble", whether it is a dress with a large skirt full of aura or a jewelry set with a sense of weight. This may be a bit high-profile in other places, but it is a daily routine in the Middle East. In addition to the preference for glittering elements, people in the Middle East also have high requirements for the comfort and breathability of clothing, which is strongly related to the hot summer climate in the local area.

When it comes to opening a fashion online store on S HEIN , many people would think it is a crowded track, but Zhou Zhou, a women's clothing merchant, combined the three keywords "Middle East, plus size, and formal wear" in a field full of strong competitors and obtained the wealth code to leverage business opportunities. The sales of his brand formal wear reached more than 18 million US dollars in the first half of this year alone, especially in the summer when the parties are crowded and the sales in the Middle East market are in the "explosive period".

Compared with aimless product development, targeting the high-quality customer base in the Middle East has given Zhou Zhou's products a clear market positioning; "plus size" just fills the defect that traditional clothing only extends the size based on the standard size, and considers the wearing needs and comfort of diverse groups from a design perspective; and "dresses" are must-have items that need to be replaced frequently for the Middle Eastern people who love to party, and compared with traditional women's clothing, they have higher profits and differentiation space.

However, it is not as easy as imagined to deeply learn the culture and aesthetics of a region that has never been explored, but the idea of ​​entering the niche track has been supported by the SHEIN team . Based on the prediction and empowerment of fashion trends provided by SHEIN , embroidery and printing with ethnic characteristics have begun to become the recognizable highlights of Zhouzhou brand dress products , and also made wealthy fashion consumers willing to pay for their gold coins.

Currently, the dress brand has more than 1,000 styles on sale on the SHEIN platform, and the number of repeat purchases of products in recent days has exceeded 100,000 . Especially during the Ramadan promotion in the first half of the year, sales growth in the Middle East reached a peak, and the success rate of many summer "battle robes" was higher than that of standard sizes . Trying to make the product narrower, the sales channel unexpectedly became wider. When high-quality design, differentiated products, and unique brand positioning are blessed with traffic from S HEIN , Zhou Zhou's brand dress products are like a "dark horse" and have found the certainty of stable growth .

According to the data from the authoritative agency Semrush in June , S HEIN is the most visited clothing and fashion shopping site in Saudi Arabia, far ahead of other similar websites. Based on the exploration of S HEIN 's own brand in the Middle East for nearly ten years, it has formed a strong mentality of fashion consumption in the local area. With the development of its online business, its market influence and positive reputation have also become the fuel for merchants to achieve explosive sales in the Middle East market.

Professional development is the key, SHEIN helps cross-border merchants to "enter the Middle East" at full speed

As the Middle East market continues to heat up, many companies are rushing to go overseas, but they are also experiencing multiple tests of culture, policy, language, and resources. The pioneers who are the first to explore the way have realized that doing business in the Middle East often requires deep cultural understanding and professional market operations.

Since he started to work in the Middle East market, Yan Hui has traveled all over the world: Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, etc. He has left his footprints in market research. In many people's concept, the Middle East may be a whole, but in fact, the Middle East includes more than 20 countries, and many people have immigrated abroad but retain the same culture and consumption habits. This requires Yan Hui to do in-depth and detailed research on users and markets, and also allows Yan Hui's products to be sold all over the world.

Since he started to deal with foreign trade orders from the Middle East ten years ago, he has felt the enthusiasm of his Middle Eastern trading partners. From them, Yan Hui learned that China has always been the preferred destination for local trade procurement. After joining the cross-border e-commerce SHEIN, he found that the business opportunities in the retail market are more attractive. "Chinese products are highly recognized locally , and the advantages of cross-border e-commerce are still very obvious ," Yan Hui said .

Since joining SHEIN, Yan Hui 's factory has continued to set new records in the number of orders sent to the Middle East market through SHEIN every year. In the first half of 2024, its product sales have reached nearly 7 million US dollars. Especially around the peak season of summer consumption , combined with SHEIN 's marketing activities to "strike while the iron is hot", sales can often reach more than 2 or 3 times the daily sales.

Especially as many target markets become more and more open, Yan Hui has observed that people's demand for personalized wear has also increased significantly: "We used to make more solid-color and dark-colored styles, but now we have started to make some diamond-studded, gold-rimmed, and gradient styles, which are also very popular." In Yan Hui's view, it is difficult to succeed if you simply move and copy the products to the Middle East market. He prefers to design and update styles based on the new market styles and trends provided by the S HEIN team. Judging from the styles that have been launched so far, the sales are relatively optimistic, especially the recent summer styles have received a lot of praise, which also indirectly confirms the importance of "professional" overseas expansion that Yan Hui has repeatedly emphasized.

Looking closely at the reasons behind the "Middle East fever", the young population structure and strong economic strength ensure the continued growth of market consumption; however, the single industry and high reliance on imports mean that there are still large gaps on the supply side that need to be filled. Not only in the Middle East, if you want to become an expert in various overseas market segments, you need to establish a new understanding of local culture, customs, aesthetics, and rules. In this process, the empowerment of professional cross-border websites or platforms can often help merchants to find loopholes and fill in the gaps, and comprehensively improve their comprehensive strength in going overseas.

The current economic transformation opportunity window in the Middle East is in full swing, and policy dividends continue to be released. Looking at it now, going overseas is not a challenge for merchants that requires going from 0 to 1 and then from 1 to 10. SHEIN is also building a brand new Middle East trade channel from the cloud, preparing the resources and infrastructure required for online retail operations, and creating a new ecosystem for Chinese products and brands to go overseas on this hot land.

SHEIN

middle East

Summer Fashion