Dominated the list of global shopping APP downloads

　　What is the password for China’s most mysterious e-commerce unicorn to go overseas?

　　For Chinese people, "SHEIN" is not a familiar name.

But overseas, it has achieved impressive results - on January 15, the latest "2024 Mobile Market Report" showed that SHEIN won the 2023 global shopping APP downloads champion; the 2023 Hurun Global Unicorn List TOP4; the United States In the latest "Top Ten Fastest-Growing Brands in the United States in 2023" survey report released by Morning Consult, SHEIN is as famous as ChatGPT, OpenAI, Facebook, Coca-Cola and many other internationally renowned brands, becoming the only Chinese brand selected...

　　While more and more Chinese companies are going overseas, SHEIN has taken three years to sweep the global market and create a miracle of fast fashion brand.

　　People close to SHEIN told Red Star Capital Bureau that as domestic industries continue to upgrade and the trend of brands going overseas strengthens, companies should focus on improving their brands and added value.

In the long run, price is not the only factor that consumers value. Companies also need to improve product quality, service, price and other comprehensive capabilities in order to gain the favor of consumers in the long term.

　　Technology-driven digital transformation of the entire supply chain

　　SHEIN's predecessor was a company established in Nanjing in 2008, which engaged in cross-border e-commerce business of wedding dresses and women's clothing.

It was officially renamed SHEIN in 2015. Before 2014, the company did not have its own supply chain.

Today, SHEIN has completed its transformation from unknown to popular all over the world.

　　SHEIN's secrets of success have been refined by the outside world - advanced version of ZARA, "flexibility" and "small order quick response".

　　The above-mentioned people told Red Star Capital Bureau that SHEIN is a technology-driven digital transformation of the entire supply chain. The key lies in "on-demand" - "on-demand fashion" that produces and supplies according to actual market demand.

　　The essence of "on demand" is quick response.

SHEIN adopts the "small order and quick response" strategy. It starts with very small orders for all SKUs (minimum stock keeping units). Each SKU is generally ordered with a minimum order of 100-200 pieces. If the sales trend is good, the order will be returned immediately, but if the sales If expectations are not met, production will be terminated to significantly reduce trial and error costs.

　　"Small order quick reaction" is not a new thing, it mainly focuses on production capacity and speed.

The key to realizing this entire process lies in digital technology.

Use digital technology to help traditional clothing suppliers realize a full-process and full-link digital supply chain, which can produce and supply in real time according to the actual market demand, thus greatly reducing industrial waste, systematically achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and achieving product quality. High cost performance, while improving the adaptability between the supply side and the market demand side, and enhancing industrial competitiveness.

　　Released the plan to bring industries to overseas markets in 500 cities across the country

　　"Small orders and quick reactions" will be quickly replicated

　　SHEIN continues to increase investment in supply chain advantages.

It continues to invest 10 billion in the Xiyin Bay Area supply chain project in Zengcheng, Guangzhou. It is reported that it will build a supply chain warehousing and logistics center that integrates operational warehousing, stocking, picking, distribution, and delivery to provide SHEIN global sales. Provide core support.

　　In 2023, SHEIN will form a dual model of "private brand + platform", extending and spilling over the flexible supply chain model of "small orders and quick turnaround" that it is good at on-demand production from the clothing industry to more industries, and empowering third-party sellers. "Small order and quick response" methodology and digital production.

　　Zhou Yunbin, a "post-95s generation", settled in SHEIN in 2022 and started an independent operation business of resin ornaments.

Without any experience abroad, his first challenge was to understand the preferences of overseas consumers.

　　The home furnishing industry, like the clothing industry, is a non-standard industry with difficult technology penetration and high difficulty in innovation.

In order to help him better understand how to choose products, SHEIN's buyers regularly share with him the trends, hot-selling items and elements of each season.

　　After a year of exploration and learning, Zhou Yunbin has learned through SHEIN to review the sales situation and analyze popular styles and popular elements, so as to launch more hot-selling items that meet overseas needs.

Up to now, Zhou Yunbin's store on the SHEIN platform has more than 500 styles every day, and his turnover has increased 400 times from more than 2,000 yuan a day.

　　More importantly, Zhou Yunbin gradually mastered the know-how of SHEIN's "small order and quick response" flexible supply chain.

　　Previously, SHEIN released the national 500-city industrial belt overseas plan, which means that SHEIN will connect the industrial belt with digital trade and digital flexible supply chain.

It also means that more and more sellers like "Zhou Yunbin" will use the SHEIN platform to explore the international blue ocean market.

　　Accelerate global localization development

　　SHEIN has begun a new overseas journey

　　Competition in the global consumer market is becoming increasingly fierce, and SHEIN's overseas influence and penetration are still increasing.

Data from market analysis agency Data.ai shows that SHEIN's active users continue to rise. In the ranking of global shopping APP active users in 2023, Amazon still ranks first, while SHEIN has risen three places to rank fourth.

　　Combining globalization and localization is the biggest challenge for consumer brands going global.

Integrating into the local area is not easy.

　　How to do localization well?

Industry insiders told Red Star Capital Bureau that cross-border e-commerce companies must abide by the laws and regulations of each market and operate legally and compliantly when going overseas. At the same time, in addition to providing high-quality products and services to global consumers, they also deepen their global localization strategy and Each market continues to make contributions and create value for the local area. This is also a process for overseas companies to continuously improve the image and influence of Chinese companies.

　　In terms of accelerating the development of global localization, SHEIN took frequent actions last year.

In August last year, SHEIN acquired one-third of the equity of SPARC Group Holdings II LLC ("SPARC Group"), the parent company of fast fashion brand Forever 21. On October 29, 2023, ABG Brands Group (Authentic Brands Group) announced a partnership with SHEIN Reached a long-term cooperation agreement with the Forever 21 brand. The two parties will conduct in-depth strategic cooperation in supply chain production, co-branding, sales and online and offline marketing.

In October last year, SHEIN acquired the British fashion brand Missguided.

　　According to the Shanghai Securities News, SHEIN’s valuation may reach US$90 billion.

Based on a valuation of US$90 billion, SHEIN will be the third most valuable startup company in the world, higher than OpenAI and second only to ByteDance and SpaceX.

　　At present, SHEIN has covered markets in more than 150 countries and regions including North America, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia.

From online to offline, all in overseas, SHEIN has begun a new overseas journey.

　　Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Wang Tian