Dubai: One of Turkey’s leading online shopping platforms, Trendyol, is making a push into the UAE and GCC markets despite the dominance of Amazon and noon.
The move comes at a fluid moment in this region’s ecommerce landscape as the likes of Shein and Temu press their credentials with the avid shopper base here.
In making its case, Trendyol recognizes the intensity of competition, but is up to the challenge, according to a top official.
“There’s room for e-commerce growth in the Gulf,” said Çağlayan Çetin, President of Trendyol, which incidentally has the Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba holding a stake. “The market size is expected to hit $50 billion by 2025.
“In the short time we’ve been operating here, we’ve been hugely encouraged by consumer and seller demand.
“As well as becoming one of the most downloaded shopping apps in the region, we’re serving more than 2 million customers, and are regularly onboarding more global and regional brands who believe in the Trendyol proposition and the opportunity here in the Gulf.”
Çetin’s observation on regional growth chances are spot on. Shoppers are willing to give new players a try even as Amazon and noon consolidate their market positions. According to a retail sector analyst, brands that can offer a ‘better’ value proposition and low returns of orders can still build up a good visibility with Gulf shoppers.
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“While this is our first dedicated local language app in the six Gulf states, our best-selling private label brand, Trendyol Collection, has been wholesaled on partner platforms in the region for years,” said Çetin.
“That connection has certainly helped drive excitement in our platform and the wide, affordable range we offer from the thousands of sellers operating on our marketplace.”
An Olympic connection too
Trendyol is not one to miss opportunities as and when they come to make a splash – it’s offering ‘The Olympic Collection’ of clothing and accessories ahead of the Games opening in Paris shortly. These will be available via its platform in multiple regional markets.
This is also the first time that the International Olympic Committee, the Games organizer, is partnering a brand from Turkey when it comes to merchandise.
“This unique relationship has given us the opportunity to create an Olympic-themed (clothing) range,” Cetin added. “It has been designed by our in-house team and manufactured by a selection of high-quality Turkish suppliers.
“The collection is now available on our local language apps in the GCC, Azerbaijan, EU and our home country.” (Trendyol is also an e-commerce services partner of the IOC under its strategic investor Alibaba’s ‘Worldwide Olympic Partnership program’.)
‘Summer of Sport’
Retail industry sources say that coming weeks should see an ‘explosion’ of Olympic-themed merchandise. “This is turning into a ‘summer of sport’ with the T20 cricket world cup, the ongoing euro cup football, and then the Olympics,” said a retailer. “Anything from television to branded clothing is fair game this summer.”
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An Abu Dhabi investor
Apart from Alibaba, strategic investors in Trendyol include Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Qatar Investment Authority, General Atlantic, Softbank and Princeville Capital. “Alibaba began investing in Trendyol in 2018 and has been an incredibly supportive strategic investor, alongside our other investors in the Gulf region and around the world,” said Cetin.