11 Things You Need to Know About Shein

Photo of women wearing clothing from Shein
 

By Tricia McKinnon

It seems as if Shein came out of nowhere to be a dominant force in fashion retail. The fast fashion retailer turns out new trends even faster than the likes of Zara and H&M. Shein, unlike some of its rivals, has a very limited physical presence and is the largest online only fashion site in the world. If you are curious about how Shein has taken the world by storm then consider these 11 facts.

1. Shein was founded in 2008 in Nanjing China by Chris Xu an American born Chinese graduate of Washington University. The retailer was originally called SheInside but the name was shortened in 2015 to Shein.

2. Shein sells cheap, really cheap clothing. Tops start at $3.00, shoes start at $5.00 and jeans start at $12.00. It is estimated that a dress sold on Shein costs half as much as one sold by Zara.

3. In May of 2021 Shein became the most downloaded shopping app on iOS and Android in the United States, with Amazon coming in second. 

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4. Shein is even taking on legacy fast fashion stalwarts. For example, as of October 2020 Shein’s app had been downloaded 229 million times, while H&M’s app had been downloaded 124 million times and Zara’s app 91 million times. 

5. More than 50% of Shein’s customers are from Gen Z and a recent Piper Sandler survey found that Shein is the fourth most liked clothing brand among teens behind Nike which topped the list and lululemon which came in second.

6. Despite teens’ affinity towards social causes like the environment fast fashion brands like Shein are still popular with teens.

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

7. Between 2,000 and 10,000 new items are listed on Shein’s website every day. Shein is vertically integrated allowing it to go from design to shipping in as little as three days. Zara by contrast on average takes three weeks from design to store. Commenting on the growth of Shein, TechCrunch wrote: “[Shein] manufactures in China as many apparel retailers do. The difference is Shein controls its own production chain, from design and prototype to procurement to manufacturing. Each step is highly digitized and integrated with another, which allows the company to churn out hundreds of new products tailored to different regions and user tastes at a daily rate. The strategy is not unlike TikTok matching content creators with users by using algorithms to understand their habits in real-time.”

8. Like many brands Shein has built its following largely through the use of influencers. In 2020 Laura Illanes, a 22-year-old student at the time at the University of South Carolina Upstate,  said she gets six free pieces of clothing from Shein each month for promoting the brand to her Instagram followers. Shein also leverages celebrities like Lil Nas X and Katy Perry who headlined a virtual COVID-19 relief concert in 2020 on Shein’s app.

9. While Shein is based in China its target market is international. It ships products to over 200 countries and its main focus is on Europe, America, Australia, and the Middle East. Similar to TikTok, Shein has focused on amassing a global audience. In the United States, Shein has a 40% share of the fast fashion market with sales reaching $16 billion in 2021.

10. At one point Shein was valued at as much as $100 billion more than the combined valuations of its fast fashion rivals H&M and Zara but that valuation by last May that valuation dropped to $66 billion.

11. Shein opened its first brick and mortar store in November of 2022 in Tokyo. To buy merchandise in the store customers have to scan a product’s QR code and then they can buy the merchandise through Shein’s website or app. Shein has also opened up a number of popup stores in select locations around the world. “We launched the Shein PopUp concept in 2018 and have found that our customers really enjoy interacting with the brand in person,” said Shein in a statement.

Tricia McKinnonStrategy & Growth, eCommerce6 Comments