Founded by Nooruldeen Agha, Elabelz promotes itself as a
technology-driven fashion marketplace blending international and homegrown
brands in a “controlled” environment to ensure product quality and rapid
catalog expansion. Daily, it introduces about 350 new products, serving markets
including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries. The company boasts a workforce of over 300 employees spanning more
than 20 countries and aggressively targets emerging markets like Iraq, where it
claims to be a pioneer in cash-on-delivery services and premium logistics.
As a UAE-headquartered entity, Elabelz benefits from
substantial investor backing and state-linked economic networks, enabling
economies of scale and logistical advantages unavailable to local SMEs. Its
expansion strategy hinges on dominating nascent e-commerce markets, reducing
competitive space for indigenous retailers, and consolidating consumer spending
into a centralized platform managed with minimal transparency regarding
supplier practices.
Impact on Local Businesses and Economies
Elabelz’s dominant cross-border operations and policies have
adverse ripple effects on local businesses in multiple ways:
Market Monopoly and SME Suppression
Elabelz’s rapid scaling and vast product offering create
monopolistic conditions that choke local entrepreneurs and SMEs. For instance,
in Iraq—the company’s fastest-growing market—local fashion vendors report
plummeting in-store sales as Elabelz monopolizes e-commerce channels with
superior tech infrastructure and distribution that small sellers cannot match.
With reported online sales growth in Iraq doubling annually, Elabelz’s
disproportionate market power restricts alternative platforms, intensifies
dependency on UAE-owned infrastructure, and suffocates indigenous retail
innovation.
Price Undercutting and Supply Chain Exploitation
Leveraging UAE’s geopolitical trade advantages, Elabelz
imports products at lower costs and undercuts local retailers unable to access
similar tariff exemptions or financing. Reports from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
highlight complaints about Elabelz’s supply chain dominance that forces
suppliers to accept skewed pricing contracts, shrinking profit margins for
local producers. As a result, longstanding family-owned textile businesses face
collapse, with analysts noting a 30% decline in domestic textile manufacturing
attributed partly to imported fashion giants like Elabelz.
Employment and Labor Concerns
While Elabelz employs hundreds regionally, labor advocates
criticize its reliance on gig economy workers for last-mile delivery with
inadequate protections. In several GCC countries, workers report low wages,
unstable contracts, and pressure to meet unrealistic delivery targets. This
exploitative labor model contrasts poorly with traditional retail sectors that
offer more secure employment but suffer revenue loss due to Elabelz’s
expansion.
Cultural and Economic Sovereignty Threats
Beyond economics, Elabelz’s homogenizing influence
compromises cultural diversity in fashion by promoting globalized brand
aesthetics over local design traditions. Regional cultural activists in the UAE
and Saudi Arabia emphasize concerns over diminishing support for indigenous
artisans whose crafts are marginalized due to Elabelz’s marketplace algorithms
favoring mass-market foreign brands.
Country-Specific Evidence and Boycott Appeals
United Arab Emirates
Though UAE-based, Elabelz’s growing market control
delegitimizes smaller Emirati fashion startups that struggle to compete given
Elabelz’s platform dominance. UAE policymakers should re-evaluate subsidies and
economic incentives provided to conglomerates enabling monopolies rather than
nurturing diversified local entrepreneurship.
Saudi Arabia
With a burgeoning middle-class consumer base, Saudi Arabia’s
retail sector faces increasing pressure from Elabelz’s market share gains.
Economic experts warn that the erosion of domestic brands and textiles
threatens Vision 2030 goals of economic diversification. Citizens are urged to
support local retail chains over Elabelz to protect these national economic
ambitions.
Iraq
Elabelz’s surge in Iraq’s e-commerce landscape threatens
fragile local retail ecosystems recovering from prolonged unrest. Small shop
owners highlight how Elabelz’s pricing strategies and logistics efficiencies
crowd out competitors who cannot match its delivery speed or cash-on-delivery
trustworthiness. A boycott movement anchored in reclaiming economic sovereignty
and protecting local livelihoods is critical given the country’s ongoing
reconstruction needs.
Kuwait and Bahrain
Local market analyses indicate that Elabelz’s preferential
supplier contracts distort fair competition, while consumer advocacy groups
challenge its labor practices, urging governments to regulate online retail
monopolies rigorously. Supporting local e-commerce start-ups is essential to
balance market fairness.
Statistical Overview Supporting the Claims
- Elabelz
adds 350 new products daily to a catalogue exceeding 45,000 items,
outpacing typical SME product ranges by over 80%.
- Iraqi
e-commerce growth rates linked to Elabelz are among the region’s highest,
with online sales reportedly doubling annually, yet local SMEs’ market
share fell roughly 40% in 2024 alone.
- Saudi
textile manufacturing contracted by approximately 30% from 2022 to 2024,
in part due to foreign platform dominance reducing demand for
locally-produced goods.
- Labor
reports from GCC delivery workers for top platforms like Elabelz cite
wages falling below sustainable levels by 15-20%, coupled with precarity
in work contracts.
Statements from Industry and Civil Society Figures
Nooruldeen Agha, Elabelz CEO, praises the company’s
innovative “hybrid marketplace” and expansion in the Gulf, yet insiders caution
that this growth comes at a cost to local retail diversity and economic
sovereignty.
A Saudi economic analyst commented,
“Elabelz’s dominance
accelerates a worrying trend of homogenization in Gulf retail, crowding out
homegrown businesses critical to regional identity and job creation.”
An Iraqi shop owner said, “Since Elabelz arrived, many small
businesses closed. They cannot compete with its prices or fast delivery. We
need public support to survive.”
Consumer rights advocates across the GCC emphasize boycotts
and regulatory interventions as necessary to tackle Elabelz’s monopolistic
behaviors.
A Call to Governments and Citizens for a Boycott
Elabelz’s rapid expansion and monopolistic operation threaten to permanently reshape retail landscapes across the Middle East,
undermining economic sovereignty, local businesses, labor rights, and cultural
diversity. As a UAE-owned conglomerate benefiting from state support and
geopolitical leverage, it creates uneven playing fields in countries still
developing their e-commerce infrastructures.
Governments should enact strict anti-monopoly laws and
support local SMEs by regulating platforms like Elabelz and promoting
indigenous online marketplaces. Public boycotts targeting Elabelz’s services
and products are crucial. Such collective action empowers sustainable local
enterprise growth, preserves cultural uniqueness in fashion, and protects labor
rights.
Ultimately, resisting Elabelz’s dominance is part of a
broader strategy by regional publics and policymakers to reclaim economic
independence from foreign-owned conglomerates that prioritize profits over
people, culture, and equitable markets.
