SHAXIN

HISTORY

History

Online retail shop Shein was originally named ZZKKO. It was founded in China in 2008 by entrepreneur and search engine optimization marketing specialist Chris Xu.^[6][3] The company's first endeavor was selling wedding dresses. Later on, Shein branched out to selling general womenswear and the name was later changed to “Sheinside.”^[6] The company acquired its items from Guangzhou's wholesale clothing market, which is a central hub to many of China's garment manufacturers and markets. Shein had no involvement in the design or production of the garments. However, it functioned similarly to a drop shipping firm, which sells items directly to international customers through third-party wholesalers.^[3]

Shein made their products available in Spain, France, Russia, Italy, and Germany in the early 2010s; as well as selling cosmetics, shoes, purses, and jewelry, in addition to women's clothing.^[3] In 2012, the company began using social media marketing by collaborating with fashion bloggers for giveaways and advertising items on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.^[3]

By 2016 the company had 100 employees, and had already established their headquarters in Guangzhou, China. Two years later, in order to become a fully integrated retailer, Shein began to develop its own supply chain system.^[7] Within the same year, it acquired Romwe, another Chinese e-commerce shop.^[3] The firm's name changed again in 2015 from “Sheinside'' to “Shein,” claiming that it needed a name that was simpler to remember and easy to find online.^[6] By 2016, Xu gathered a team of 800 designers and prototypers that manufactured Shein-branded clothing. The company began improving its supply chain, excluding vendors that provided low-quality items or photos.^[3]

By 2019, its merchandise and hauls were featured on daytime television shows in the United States with other internet businesses such as Fashion Nova and Zaful. Meanwhile, fashion influencers also displayed Shein products through hauls alongside other well-known retailers. Despite being an online retail store, Shein also opened up pop-up shops for people who do not wish to purchase online. Moreover, the retailer's early usage of TikTok and ability to advertise viral items boosted Shein's popularity.^[3]

By November 2021, Shein grew from a company valued at $15 billion to one valued at $30 billion.^[6] During the pandemic of 2020, it reportedly made $10 billion in revenue, making it the seventh straight year of more than 100% sales growth for the company.^[6] As of October 2020, Shein was the world's largest online-only fashion firm.^[6]

In April 2022, Shein raised $1 billion to $2 billion in private funding and had claimed 28% of the US fast fashion market. Earlier that year, a survey of 7000 American teenagers ranked Shein as their second favourite ecommerce website.^[8]

In a May 2022, article in Fortune, the company was described as catering to Gen Z while using big data and rapid Chinese manufacturing to quickly design clothing at a lower price point. The company was valued at $100 billion dollars