U.S. retailers looking to set up shop in Saudi Arabia need to prepare themselves for some major differences — including the fact the there are no fitting rooms.

As growth slows at home, some U.S. retailers are looking at overseas markets, including Saudi Arabia, to augment U.S. sales.

But to enter Saudi Arabia they need to work with a partner.

And that partner can explain to a retailer how they should tweak their business to make it acceptable to the local Saudi Arabian market, said Peter Gross and Vishal Jain of Fawaz Alhokair Group. Fawaz Alhokair brings U.S. brands, like Nine West and Gap, to Saudi Arabia.

Jain said the typical Saudi family has five children, and 50 percent of the population is under 15 years old. That means there is a voracious appetite for youth and baby goods, and a retailer opening stores in Saudi Arabia would expect to stock more clothes for children than they would in a typical store in the United States.

How about those racy U.S. ads showing generous amounts of cleavage and torsos? They will need to be toned down for Saudi Arabia, the executive said. Instead, retailers can expect their ads to show clothes on silhouettes.

Gross said stores in Saudi Arabia do not have dressing rooms because women, who wear long black robes and cover their heads in public, will not undress in public, where all the workers in retailer stores are men. Instead, they will try on their clothes at home.

And while they may not be able to flaunt their new fashions on the street, women are eager to flaunt them in the privacy of their own homes, among friends and family, Gross said. 

And what else sells well in Saudi Arabia? Handbags and shoes — two items Saudi Arabian women can show off in public.

(Photo: Reuters)