Dive Brief:
- Shein Marketplace launched this week in the U.S. ahead of a larger international rollout, and following its debut in Brazil last month.
- The selling platform, which Shein called a global integrated marketplace in its release, allows local and international third-party sellers to offer goods on a Shein-branded site alongside Shein products. The company said the move is intended to meet a growing consumer demand for variety.
- For sellers, Shein Marketplace will provide access to real-time insights, an established customer base, product fulfillment infrastructure and marketing and social channel exposure.
Dive Insight:
In addition to providing direct resources, Shein Marketplace would also give local sellers the opportunity to learn about Shein’s on-demand production and demand measurement capabilities, said the release.
"SHEIN is committed to delivering the best shopping experience for customers and empowering the communities where we operate while doing so," said Shein’s CEO Sky Xu in the release. "By bringing new sellers onto SHEIN Marketplace that are aligned with our vision of making the beauty of fashion to all, we are creating increased value for our customers while enabling local businesses to grow with us."
A U.S. Shein spokesperson declined to comment further on the Marketplace and indicated the news was being handled by Shein’s overseas team.
Singapore-based Shein has been consistently working to move its supply chain out of China, where the company was originally based. Last summer, it began manufacturing in Turkey, and a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal indicated that it had also secured warehouses in Poland to streamline shipping to Western European customers.
However, the company’s main supply chain is still largely based in China’s southern Guangdong province, a major manufacturing hub where it reportedly has over 6,000 factories.
The company has projected sales of $60 billion by 2025, and has been teasing a possible IPO this year. However, despite a recent charm offensive meant to counteract accusations that Shein steals designs and overlooks labor violations, U.S. lawmakers have asked the SEC to halt its IPO ambitions until it verifies that it does not use forced labor.
