The SOURCE & SCALE of the World's Largest Fashion Retailer In The Marketing

Shein, a Chinese online retailer, is the T𝘪𝘬𝘛𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 $1.5𝘵𝘳𝘯 & is one of two Chinese firms to be privately valued at $100bn or more. Founded in 2009, its journey in a decade has been significant with 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 220 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 speaks volumes of its efforts put in conquering new frontiers in the apparel industry. In 2019 Shein’s gross merchandise value (GMV), the preferred measure of total sales on their platforms was $2.3𝘣𝘯, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 $20𝘣𝘯 𝘣𝘺 end of 2022 and has raised $100 bn in funding, is where analysts expect to overtake Zara’s revenues.

Last year Shein became the most downloaded shopping app in America, beating Amazon to showcase the power of showcase of choices and offerings. How it accomplishes this performance of this scale and mark on the global apparel footprint, is an introduction to new ways of practicing, and provides new ways of succeeding.

First, Shein offered 1.3𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘴 35,000 𝘢𝘵 𝘡𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 25,000 𝘢𝘵 𝘏&𝘔, and typically Shein’s prices were 40-60% lower, adding edge to its sales spike. All this gain scripted in a combination of this huge variety and affordable prices made its business model sustainable.

Second, they made 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 in catering to build their brand mileage and worked across social media spaces.

Third,it brought 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵, where they are harnessed together by a decision-making software, which provides them with constant updates, measured by an algorithm, of what fashion is hot or not, bringing a sea difference to its core. This enables them to adjust output constantly to suit the latest preferences, without amassing unwanted inventory, which it reflects each country’s current style.

Mr.Chris Xu’s, founder's winning formula is deft avoidance of geopolitical controversy, but the US-China trade spat came to his advantage. Also, Shein wears its Chineseness lightly, unlike other Chinese brands that have tried to conquer the world, such as Huawei, a telecoms-equipment giant, or Xiaomi, which makes smartphones, it sells next to nothing domestically.

Unlike Amancio Ortega(Founder Zara fast-fashion empire) or Erling Persson of H&M, Xu Yangtian had none of their tailoring experience, when he founded Shein in 2008. Instead, the creator of the fashion world’s latest sensation was a specialist in SEO.

It's always the outsider who can bring disruption in any industry.

This post is part of 𝒁𝒆𝒓𝒐𝑪𝒐𝒅𝒆(https://www.zeroco.de/) - Side Effects & Survival Series.