Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does women's underwear trading cover?
It covers the retail sale of women's intimate wear, including briefs, panties, bras, bralettes, lingerie sets, and shapewear.
2. Does this include shapewear?
Yes. Shapewear and figure-shaping innerwear fall within this activity, alongside core lingerie products such as bras and briefs.
3. Can I sell men's underwear alongside women's?
No. Men's underwear has its own activity (4771.85). A business selling both would need both activity licenses.
4. Can this activity be operated as an online store?
Yes. Women's underwear is widely purchased online with high repeat-buying. The activity can be operated through online sales, physical retail, or both.
5. Can I sell broader ladieswear under this license?
No. Broader women's clothing including dresses, daily wear, and abayas falls under ladies garment trading (4771.83), a separate activity.
How to Start a Women's Underwear Trading Business with Meydan Free Zone
Lingerie is one of the rare fashion categories where the customer buys, comes back, and buys again. She is willing to shop online once she trusts the fit. She's brand-loyal across her wardrobe. She rebuys at predictable intervals. In a UAE market where e-commerce is climbing fast and internet access is near-universal, that pattern of loyalty translates into a quietly compounding business.
Women's underwear is increasingly an online category. UAE e-commerce is forecast to reach around USD 9.2 billion by 2026, with online sales already accounting for around 13 percent of UAE retail, according to Gulf News¹. UAE retail overall is around USD 70.5 billion in 2025, with organised retail growing at around 6.6 percent, according to Khaleej Times².
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Where the Opportunity Sits
Lingerie rewards loyalty more than most of fashion, and the UAE adds something specific: e-commerce growing fast, internet access near-universal, and a customer who comes back two or three times a year.
Sources: Gulf News (2022); Khaleej Times (2025).
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A women's underwear retail business sells one well-defined category to a clearly identified customer. It is a focused retail business: women's lingerie and intimates, displayed and fitted for the female shopper, with the privacy, knowledge, and product range that a general store cannot provide. Brand-loyal returning shoppers, occasion buyers, and online customers all rely on dedicated stores to find sizing, comfort, and fit that work for them.
What's interesting about lingerie as a business is that the customer is far more reliable than in most other styles of fashion. She isn't chasing the trend that hit the runway last week. She finds a fit and a fabric she trusts, and she comes back for that same product two or three times a year. She's willing to buy online once she's confident about the brand, and she's far more brand-loyal than the average women's clothing customer. In the UAE, where e-commerce is on a sharp upward curve and almost everyone is online, that loyalty translates into recurring revenue that mall-based lingerie stores and online-first brands are both building real businesses around.
Built on fit, trust, and repeat purchase, women's lingerie is the kind of category where loyalty pays off.
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Who is this for?
- Lingerie retailers: Owners of stores selling women's intimate wear, both in physical and online formats.
- Branded lingerie operators: Operators of single-brand lingerie and intimate apparel boutiques.
- Online-first lingerie businesses: E-commerce operators selling women's lingerie through digital channels.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a women's lingerie retail business in a market with strong online growth and brand-loyal customers.
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4771.93 - Women Underwears Trading
Under this activity, your business is licensed to sell women's underwear at retail.
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The activity is specifically for women's underwear at retail. Selling men's underwear, broader ladieswear such as dresses or daily wear, women's swimwear sold outside the intimates category, or operating as a wholesaler rather than a retailer all fall under different activities.
The line is precise. If your business sells women's underwear and lingerie at retail, you are in. If you sell men's underwear, broader ladieswear, or operate as a wholesaler, a different activity applies.
Third-Party Approval: No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Footnotes
¹ Gulf News. UAE E-commerce Market Forecast to Reach $9.2 Billion by 2026. Gulf News, 2022.
² Khaleej Times. Organised Retail Remains on Growth Path in the UAE. Khaleej Times, 2025.
