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.

How Do You Actually Pronounce “Shein”?

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.

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 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 https://www.forex-reviews.org/ supplier for other ecommerce stores while selling to consumers under its own label on the side.

• At the same time, Shein’s profits declined more than 70% from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024 as it came under scrutiny from regulators.
• But Xu quickly realized the power of social media for fueling SheInside‘s direct-to-consumer growth.
• The Chinese giant’s press release announced a five million euro donation to the Africa Collect Textiles Foundation (ACT).
• The Chinese-founded firm – which also sells a huge range of beauty and home products – doubled its profits to more than $2bn (£1.6bn) last year, making more than the Swedish fashion group H&M and the UK’s Primark and Next.
• This rebranding also came with an upgraded website at Shein.com, expanded product selection with free shipping offers, and an amplified social media presence across global platforms.
• It retained brand familiarity for existing SheInside fans across China and English-speaking locations, while lending itself to expanded adoption by style seekers worldwide.

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.

Design theft accusations

The origins of Shein trace back to 2008, when Chinese entrepreneur Chris Xu founded the company under the domain SheInside.com focusing on women’s fashion. Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning. Both Shein and Temu have been scrambling to adapt to the impending end of the de minimis exemption.

Temu and Shein may already have a case of the Trump Tariff Blues

But the e-commerce site, which moved its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022, is still in tricky territory as it gears up to possibly go public in London this year. The company says it now serves customers in plus500 review more than 150 countries, including Ireland and Australia. Shein launched a design incubator in Japan in 2023, and it held a pop-up in South Korea last summer.

Shein‘s Founding and Early Days as SheInside.com

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 Das trader 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.

• Yet despite astronomical growth and international acclaim, “Shein” remains a humble, linguistically malleable name open to interpretation across languages and cultures.
• 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.
• However, Canaves believes that Shein is in a better place, operations-wise, than Temu is, because of Shein’s vertically-integrated supply chain.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

I decided to do some digging to uncover the origins and multiple linguistic meanings behind the Shein moniker. 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. The Chinese giant’s press release announced a five million euro donation to the Africa Collect Textiles Foundation (ACT). This money will be used to establish and improve recycling infrastructure to process large volumes of textile waste. Critics are likely to point out that Shein itself is responsible for the large quantities of textile waste in Africa. The donation to ACT is also intended to stimulate job creation, with Shein stating its desire to see young people and women from vulnerable communities employed.

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.