Turkish e-commerce platform Trendyol has signed a letter of intent for a strategic collaboration with the Saudi Arabian retail entity Cenomi Group to launch a new fashion platform in Gulf countries.
According to the statement from Trendyol, the platform, focusing on fashion and lifestyle, will operate in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, where Trendyol recently started its operations.
As part of the collaboration, Trendyol's existing platform in these countries will be revamped in the coming months to offer different categories of options.
"The expansion of Trendyol in the Gulf countries, with the support of our investors in the region, Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund (ADQ) and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is one of our most important growth strategies," said Çağlayan Çetin, the president of Trendyol Group.
According to the information in the announcement, Cenomi, positioned as the largest vertically integrated lifestyle and retail entity in Saudi Arabia, in addition to retail franchise operations is also involved in private loyalty programs and e-commerce platform activities.
"We are delighted to partner with Cenomi, the Middle East's most dynamic shopping and lifestyle brand, to deliver an exciting online retail experience to customers in the region," Çetin said.
"The new platform will further strengthen our activities in the region, where we already deliver high-quality Turkish products and international brands while drawing strength from the common knowledge and expertise of both companies, as well as the customer experience competencies in which they are pioneers in their respective markets," he said.
Founded in 2010 in Türkiye, Trendyol is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the country.
The company in recent months announced plans for expansion in the Gulf markets.
Trendyol’s mobile application, which started operating in the Gulf countries in August, quickly became the most downloaded shopping application in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE and reached 30,000 orders per day as of November.
Operating out of Türkiye and Germany, Trendyol delivers to 27 countries in Europe, according to its website.
In August 2021, it entered into agreements to raise $1.5 billion from a number of investors, valuing the company at $16.5 billion. With the new funding, Trendyol became Türkiye's first decacorn, a start-up with a valuation of over $10 billion.