Article content

By Natalie Stechyson

Behind their more modest street clothes, many women in Arab countries apparently are wearing North American lingerie as western companies expand into these markets.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Lingerie market in Muslim countries booming Back to video

With slightly lower hems and largely altered advertisements, Canadian lingerie retailer La Vie en Rose has made a splash in Arab countries.

About 10% of the Montreal-based company’s annual revenue comes from its stores in Arab countries, and the company plans to expand to meet growing demands there, said Luc Poirier, the CFO and vice-president of international business.

“It was a bit surprising to see the growth compared to the Canadian market,” Poirier said.“Still, we feel that women, whether Muslim or whatever the religion, like to be fashionable. So if there’s a demand there, we thought we should try to serve it as well as we do here in Canada.”

The lingerie retailer has 55 stores across the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the company’s biggest Middle East customer, with 29 stories in that country alone. The company plans to add another six stores there and two more in Kuwait.