From Dubai to the world: How VTEX is helping retailers win big globally
By sharing knowledge and infrastructure across markets, VTEX helps brands avoid costly mistakes and replicate successful models efficiently
19 December, 2025
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Retailers attempting to scale across borders often confront an intricate web of operational, technological, and cultural challenges. From differing currencies and tax regulations to inventory management and customer expectations, even established brands find themselves overwhelmed. Enter VTEX, a cloud-based e-commerce platform that promises to simplify global expansion while empowering brands to operate efficiently, profitably, and intelligently across multiple channels.
Founded as an all-in-one solution for online sales, VTEX enables medium and large brands to manage everything from product listings, pricing, and promotions to checkout, payments, and omnichannel operations. With support for websites, apps, marketplaces, and physical stores, VTEX ensures inventory and orders remain synchronised, reducing inefficiencies and operational risk.
Read more-UAE retailers embrace omnichannel as 70% integrate digital tools in-store, shows survey
VTEX’s recent expansion into Dubai marks more than just a physical presence, it signals a strategic pivot toward global scale. “We see Dubai as a strategic platform for global scale,” said Santiago Naranjo, chief revenue officer at VTEX. “From here, we can accelerate growth across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and other regions. Dubai enables collaboration with a wide range of entities, which excites us because the city demonstrates a strong, forward-looking vision for both the country and the broader region.”
Dubai’s unique position as a hub for commerce and innovation allows VTEX to align with local governments and private enterprises, bringing together culture, goals, and values to scale sustainably. For VTEX, this shared vision is central to the company’s mission: helping retailers grow efficiently while contributing to better societal outcomes.
Navigating the unique dynamics of the GCC market
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region presents both enormous opportunity and unique challenges. With rich cultural traditions intersecting with rapid digital adoption, brands need a technology architecture that delivers simplicity, speed, and reliability. VTEX’s platform meets this demand by supporting multi-brand operations, multi-country websites, and scalable commerce models, enabling retailers to save time and reduce complexity while scaling profitably.
“Brands must ensure compliance, privacy, language synchronisation, and accurate inventory management across all markets,” said Naranjo. “Without the right technology, companies risk overstocking, overspending, and operational inefficiencies. The solution lies in a unified platform that connects catalog, inventory, pricing, and order management across all channels.”
With over 3,000 clients across 37 countries, VTEX has demonstrated its ability to support complex commerce operations. High-profile partnerships with Manchester City and large-scale enterprise experiences such as the O2 Arena highlight its capacity to deliver customised, scalable solutions. Three years post-IPO, VTEX’s expansion into the GCC underscores its belief in the region’s strategic value and its potential to generate significant commercial impact.
“Our vision is to help businesses scale efficiently while maintaining clarity in how their commerce strategies perform and evolve,” Naranjo explained. The company’s goal is not merely to provide technology, but to create a global network of companies, people, and communities that drive commerce innovation and growth.
AI-driven commerce: Redefining operational efficiency
Scaling across borders is not just a question of platforms and processes, it increasingly involves leveraging artificial intelligence to manage complexity. VTEX has integrated AI capabilities to enhance retailer competitiveness across the commerce lifecycle.
For instance, AI-driven product recommendations improve conversion rates by helping customers navigate extensive catalogs, presenting the right products at the right time. On the post-purchase side, agentic AI automates returns, exchanges, and reimbursements, reducing reliance on call centers while increasing operational efficiency. “We are seeing Net Promoter Scores nearly double and conversion rates increase by up to 35 per cent,” Naranjo noted, illustrating tangible outcomes from AI integration.
Agentic AI represents a potential evolution beyond traditional automation frameworks. By making intelligent decisions on behalf of both brands and customers, it has the potential to transform commerce operations fundamentally. As computing power and large language models improve, the accuracy and reliability of these AI systems will only increase, redefining global commerce.
VTEX positions itself as more than a technology provider, it aims to accelerate the shift from digital adoption to digital leadership. By sharing knowledge, best practices, and infrastructure across markets, VTEX helps brands avoid costly mistakes and replicate successful models efficiently. “Industry leaders have a responsibility not only to scale but to share infrastructure, best practices, and knowledge globally,” said Naranjo.
With decades of experience spanning South Africa, Brazil, the USA, Mexico, Colombia, Germany, and the UK, VTEX brings proven expertise to emerging and established markets alike. Its goal is to enable companies in the UAE, GCC, and beyond to scale efficiently without sacrificing operational clarity or profitability.
A vision for global commerce excellence
Looking ahead to 2030, VTEX envisions a world where its platform serves as a global center of commerce excellence. Dubai, with its vibrant ecosystem and forward-thinking policies, will anchor regional operations and training initiatives for the next generation of retail talent. This approach combines technology, human expertise, and community engagement to help businesses operate profitably, transparently, and sustainably.
“Our fingerprints on global retail will be defined by the companies we empower, the talent we train, and the commerce models we make scalable,” Naranjo said. The ambition is clear: to turn the chaos of cross-border retail into a seamless, intelligent, and profitable experience for brands and consumers alike.
In an era where scaling across borders often breaks traditional retailers, VTEX is emerging as a critical partner, leveraging technology, AI, and strategic hubs like Dubai to rewrite the rules of global commerce. The message is simple: with the right platform, retailers can expand confidently, innovate consistently, and compete successfully, no matter how complex the global marketplace becomes.
