Recently, industry sources familiar with the matter said that apparel giant Peacebird Group acquired an e-commerce platform in Ningbo that focuses on the Middle East market and is actively preparing to enter the Saudi market, which is an important part of the overseas strategy of Peacebird Group.
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, Peacebird was successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2011, and has significant brand influence in both domestic and international markets. The company's main products cover a wide range of men's, women's and children's clothing, etc., and are positioned in the mid- to high-end market, pursuing the design concept of both fashion and comfort. Since its establishment, Peacebird has been actively expanding its presence in both domestic and international markets, selling its products through both online and offline retail channels. Since 2013, Peacebird has tried to develop the international market by signing international brand management rights, overseas shareholding, etc. Previously, it had entered the North American market in cooperation with Tmall International in 2018, and made a high-profile appearance in the "Tmall China Day of New York Fashion Week", which gained a certain positive response.
It is reported that the e-commerce platform acquired by the Group, named "ChicPoint", was established in Ningbo Hi-Tech Zone in 2020, and its main business focuses on women's clothing, children's clothing and selected home furnishings for women aged between 25 and 45 years old in the Middle East region, and with the higher purchasing power and Internet penetration rate of the Middle East countries, as well as the relatively low e-commerce penetration rate, the download of the APP has been very successful. With the high purchasing power and Internet penetration rate in Middle Eastern countries, as well as the relatively low penetration rate of e-commerce, the APP has been downloaded by nearly 20 million people, effectively promoting the internationalization of nearly 1,000 domestic supply chain enterprises, and has been successfully selected as one of the third batch of famous brands of cross-border e-commerce exports issued by the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province. With the marketing channels accumulated by ChicPoint, Peacebird Group hopes to use Saudi Arabia as a breakthrough to enter the Middle East and North Africa apparel market.
Apparel has always been one of the most promising and fastest-growing consumer goods tracks in Saudi Arabia. According to a previous survey, apparel is the most popular online shopping category among Saudi Arabian netizens, and its apparel market is expected to exceed $32 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 13%. At present, Saudi Arabia's domestic apparel industry development level is relatively low, most of the products need to rely on overseas imports, at present, China, Vietnam, India, South Korea, Japan, the United States and Europe's textiles are the source of Saudi Arabia's market, it has been reported that China's products accounted for as much as 37% of the share, which means that the Chinese companies have a very high revenue space. Previously, Chinese companies focusing on the apparel category, such as SHEIN, have already taken their first steps into the Saudi market, with notable success.