Over the last decade, Shein has gone from a little-known brand among older shoppers to one of the biggest fast fashion retailers globally. This rebranding also came with an upgraded website at Shein.com, expanded product selection with free shipping offers, and an amplified social media presence across global platforms. But Xu quickly realized the power of social media for fueling SheInside‘s direct-to-consumer growth. He invested heavily in Facebook and Instagram ads targeted at Western markets like the U.S., allowing the velocity trade company to rapidly amass millions of international fans.
2012: founding and early business model
Shein’s app and site now https://www.forex-reviews.org/ sell categories such as appliances, smart products and DIY products. Its marketplace has also become a hub for gray-market luxury products like red Comme Des Garcons Converse high-tops and flared black Juicy Couture trousers. Under its new label, Shein would ride a wave of strategic digital marketing and influencer collaborations to achieve today’s status as one of the world’s leading fast fashion online marketplaces.
- Shein’s financial performance alone could raise questions for potential investors, but uncertainty around de minimis adds another complication.
- And those concerns are back in the spotlight as the Chinese firm explores listing its shares in London in a public offering that could value it at a reported $50bn.
- Read on for a deep dive into the captivating history and clever branding strategy that gave rise to one of today‘s most recognizable fashion labels.
- This pioneering use of influencer marketing to promote affordable, on-trend clothing would lay the foundation for the globally recognized fast fashion disruptor Shein would soon become.
- The company has managed to achieve a rare fusion of efficient digital commerce and human creative passion that connects with style mavens in markets spanning Los Angeles to Dubai and beyond.
- Six days later, he agreed to wait until “adequate systems are in place” for the Commerce Department “to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue,” according to a new executive action.
More in Operations
I decided to do some digging to uncover the origins and multiple linguistic meanings behind the Shein moniker. Read on for a deep dive into the captivating history and clever branding strategy that gave rise to one of today‘s most recognizable fashion labels. The Chinese giant’s press release announced a five million euro donation to the Africa Collect Textiles Foundation (ACT). This money will be used to establish and improve recycling infrastructure to process large volumes of textile waste. Critics are likely to point out that Shein itself is responsible for the large quantities of textile waste in Africa. The donation to ACT is also intended to stimulate job creation, with Shein stating its desire to see young people and women from vulnerable communities employed.
It will be exciting to see where the next evolution of this brand takes Shein across both linguistic and commercial landscapes worldwide. And in that sense, “Shein” still encapsulates the sound of hope that founder Chris Xu dreamed of at inception — the universal hope shared by consumers everywhere for looking and feeling their best each day no matter what. It has become ubiquitous on packaging and advertisements for everything from tops and dresses to handbags, intimates and one-stop wedding shops.
Lawsuits with Temu
Shein is often compared to Temu, another low-cost e-commerce company with roots in China that also benefits from de minimis. Temu has tried to expand its business beyond the “direct-from-China” model of shipping small packages through air cargo by building out domestic manufacturing in the U.S., Modern Retail previously reported. However, Canaves believes that Shein is in a better place, operations-wise, than Temu is, because of Shein’s vertically-integrated supply chain. Shein is known for ultra-cheap products products ranging from $3 crop tops to $10 dresses, but in recent years, it’s expanded its assortment beyond fashion.
- On Feb. 7, Reuters reported that Shein was prepared to slash its valuation to $50 billion — exactly half of its $100 billion valuation in 2022 — amid uncertainty around de minimis.
- It has also sped up the “test and repeat” model made famous by other fast fashion giants including H&M and Zara owner Inditex.
- At the time, the giant also announced its intention to support companies developing “next-generation” technologies and solutions.
- The simplified name was a pivotal move, as “SheInside” had proven difficult for English speakers to remember and search for online.
- This speaks to how Shein aims to bridge cultural divides globally through a shared love of fashion at just the right value.
- However, the fund appeared to be more of a way to bring European and British design talent on board.
Labor law violations
According to other sources, he is Chinese with Chinese, American and Singaporean citizenship and has studied at the George Washington University. According to information from Shein, he was born in China.3 After graduating, he worked in marketing at search engine optimization and became aware of the opportunities that arose from selling Chinese products abroad. For Shein, the timing of the looming tariffs could be disastrous, coming at a critical juncture for its delayed U.S. Tariff-related price hikes could undermine its appeal and threaten the very low-cost model that has fueled its growth. And those concerns are back in the spotlight as the Chinese firm explores listing its shares in London in a public offering that could value it at a reported $50bn.
Registration in Singapore
The Chinese-founded firm – which also sells a huge range of beauty and home products – doubled its profits to more than $2bn (£1.6bn) last year, making more than the Swedish fashion group H&M and the UK’s Primark and Next. Founded in Nanjing, China, in October 2008 as ZZKKO by entrepreneur Chris Xu, Shein grew to become the world’s largest fashion retailer as of 2022. Slowing sales and tepid demand have imperiled some of the biggest names in the online luxury industry, but London-based Wolf & Badger is bucking the trend. Notably, Shein’s black-and-white color scheme brings to mind the concept of yin-yang, reflecting how opposing elements are interconnected. This speaks to how Shein aims to bridge cultural divides globally through a shared love of fashion at just the right value.
Temu and Shein may already have a case of the Trump Tariff Blues
Originally, SheInside had used a white spiral logo set on a black background, representing limitless style possibilities and nods to Chinese cultural symbols. Alongside its strategic renaming came an updated, modernized logo befitting Shein’s simplified brand image and expanded international presence. The simplified name was a pivotal move, as “SheInside” Fomc meeting calendar had proven difficult for English speakers to remember and search for online.
Student Jess Gavin, 21, certainly used to shop at Shein, getting the bug during the pandemic when online fashion shopping was a fun way to pass the time. It has also launched a resale platform for shoppers in the US and France to boost its green credentials, while it says producing clothes in smaller batches means very little material goes to waste. The real turning point for the brand came during the pandemic, when online shopping took off and Shein’s sales soared, says Louise Déglise-Favre from analysts GlobalData. At the same time, Shein’s profits declined more than 70% from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024 as it came under scrutiny from regulators. Shein’s financial performance alone could raise questions for potential investors, but uncertainty around de minimis adds another complication.
