To maintain their U.S. customer base, they’ve ramped up efforts to navigate the new tariffs and customs regulations. Postal Service (USPS) lifting its temporary freeze on package acceptance from China and Hong Kong, could influence the flow of goods, potentially reshaping how these companies adjust to the evolving tariff environment. But the ethical issues began to concern her and now she won’t shop there at all, opting instead for second-hand sites Vinted and Depop. The firm has promised to investigate such issues and says it strictly Best copper stocks enforces a code of conduct, which all of its suppliers must sign up to.
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. The brand continues cementing partnerships with celebrity brand ambassadors like Katy Perry and Lil Nas X, while dropping new limited-edition collections daily to keep fans engaged across social media channels. He merged the business with fellow Chinese fashion site Romwe and rebranded the consolidated company under the abbreviated name “Shein” to facilitate international search and recall. And these positive meanings were very much intentional, as the Shein brand aims to provide an elegant, fashion-forward look at prices customers across the globe can afford. Xu is said to come from a poor family in Shandong province and to have studied at the Qingdao University of Science and Technology.
By comparison, “Shein” was short, snappy, and evoked the elegant aesthetics the brand had come to be known for. Unlike familiar Western brand names, “Shein” (pronounced “sheh-EEN”) has no direct translation in English. But translated literally from Mandarin Chinese, it harbors several positive meanings reflecting core brand values of beauty, elegance and high fashion. It may bring more attention to the company’s operations and provide a boost for the UK economy, particularly as the London Stock Exchange has been struggling to attract fast-growing companies.
- But the criticism Shein has faced over its operating practices has been hard to shake off.
- Modern Retail reached out to Shein for comment but did not receive an answer by press time.
- It has become ubiquitous on packaging and advertisements for everything from tops and dresses to handbags, intimates and one-stop wedding shops.
- 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.
- Like millions of others, she’s a huge fan of the ultra-fast fashion giant, mostly because of how affordable it is.
2012: founding and early business model
The firm has also made smart use of social media, recruiting popular influencers and university students to promote its clothing on TikTok and Instagram. Yet despite astronomical growth and international acclaim, “Shein” remains a humble, linguistically malleable name open to interpretation across languages and cultures. For fans worldwide, it simply means chic fashion and home wares made accessible across boundaries of language, price and geography. The power trend current Shein logo features the brand name prominently in a bold sans serif font, evoking chic minimalism with the letters styled cleanly in black set against a crisp white backdrop. It retained brand familiarity for existing SheInside fans across China and English-speaking locations, while lending itself to expanded adoption by style seekers worldwide. In the early years, SheInside operated as a wholesale supplier for other ecommerce stores while selling to consumers under its own label on the side.
- 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.
- 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.
- It has become ubiquitous on packaging and advertisements for everything from tops and dresses to handbags, intimates and one-stop wedding shops.
- 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.
- Like millions of others, she’s a huge fan of the ultra-fast fashion giant, mostly because of how affordable it is.
- But the criticism Shein has faced over its operating practices has been hard to shake off.
- Shein’s financial performance alone could raise questions for potential investors, but uncertainty around de minimis adds another complication.
Newsletter
A week ago, Shein relaunched in India five years after the government banned dozens of other Chinese apps, including TikTok. The Indian firm Reliance Retail signed a licensing agreement with Shein to sell products on the platform, according to the BBC. President Donald Trump moved to scrap de minimis, a rule allowing packages worth less than $800 to enter the country duty-free. 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. At the same time, other countries and companies are calling to eliminate tax loopholes that have been critical to the success of companies like Shein. Mexico restricted duty-free apparel imports in January, and the heads of the apparel brands Superdry and Monsoon Accessorize are asking the U.K.
Marketplace Briefing: How Wolf & Badger is winning U.S. shoppers despite luxury retail’s slowdown
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. Modern Retail reached out to Shein for comment but did not receive an answer by press time. Fast-fashion giant Shein caught a break on Friday when the U.S. decided (at least temporarily) not to eliminate a trade provision the company has used to keep costs low.
Last year, a group of US lawmakers also called for Shein to be investigated over claims that Uyghur forced labour in China is used to make some of the clothes it sells. “The brand’s success coincided with a boom in TikTok usage in Europe and the US,” says Ms Déglise-Favre. “The Chinese social media platform participated greatly in spreading awareness about the Shein’s ultra-affordable proposition.” Since then it has grown into a global behemoth, best known for selling on-trend clothing, mostly to a Gen Z customer base. Shein, pronounced “she-in”, was set up in China in 2008 by entrepreneur Xu Yangtian and started out selling wedding dresses online.
More in Operations
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” https://www.forex-world.net/ had proven difficult for English speakers to remember and search for online.
There are worries about the environmental impact of mass producing low-cost clothes, and the waste it creates. But the criticism Shein has faced over its operating practices has been hard to shake off. It also uses “gamification” strategies to boost customer engagement on its shopping app which is used by millions of people worldwide.
Design theft accusations
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.