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The online store SHEIN has become wildly popular all over the world. But where does SHEIN come from? On this page, we are happy to tell you everything you need to know about the webshop and where the clothes are made.
Where does SHEIN come from?
SHEIN started in 2008 in China selling cheap wedding dresses. Since then, the brand has been around for over 13 years. They have expanded its products to all kinds of clothing for women, men and children.
Whereas previously you could only order in the US on SHEIN.com, you can now place orders on the website from 220 countries and regions worldwide.
A huge growth, in other words! The headquarters of the brand is in Ninjang, in China. There are also branches in China and other countries.
First, the SHEIN website stated that the company was founded in New Jersey (USA), however, this turned out not to be true. Meanwhile, this information has also been removed from the website.
Fun fact: in 2008 the brand was still called She-Inside, only in 2015 the name was changed to the shorter variant SHEIN. That’s why it’s also pronounced: She-In!
Where is the clothing made?
SHEIN’s clothing is made in Asia and shipped from there. In the beginning they shipped directly from China to customers, now the brand has established several major department stores around the world. This implies that your package can be sent from, for example, Russia.
However, this does not mean that the clothes are made in Russia. The clothing items are shipped to department stores from Asian factories. This has the advantage for SHEIN that the shipping time from a department store is usually faster than the shipping time when your order has to come from China first.
There is also plenty of space in these department stores to stock the millions of garments the company produces.
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Can I go to a SHEIN store?
Currently, there are no physical stores to visit from SHEIN. Unfortunately! It remains an online shopping experience. The reason for this is probably because it is a lot cheaper for them to have only a webshop. In fact, for a physical store they’d pay high prices for rent in cities.
On top of that, there are the costs for extra staff and transportation of clothes to physical stores. It is also impossible to display all the clothes that SHEIN sells in one place.
So it’s probably an economic consideration, why there is no physical SHEIN store. Therefore, you will have to order all the clothes online, and try them on at home. We do have some tips for that: SHEIN sizes: this is how to avoid making a bad purchase.
Mysterious
The SHEIN online store is called mysterious by some people. There is no obvious customer service that you can call for your questions, and you won’t get to speak to SHEIN employees. Instead, your questions will (hopefully) be answered via an automated chat program.
Of course, also the low prices are a reason for the mystery of SHEIN: how is it that the garments are so cheap? This is partly due to the fast production process and because the production takes place in China (or other Asian countries).
In Asian countries, laws surrounding minimum wages are very different from Western countries. Also the cost of living is cheaper there. Because of this, also production is cheaper in these countries.
The founder of SHEIN, Chris Xu, is difficult to track down though. In China, the man avoids interviews and journalists as much as possible. This naturally raises questions among people. Nevertheless, it does not seem to be getting in the way of SHEIN’s popularity. In fact, a lot of orders are made worldwide every day!
Did you know that SHEIN is not famous in China?
This is because SHEIN focuses on exporting abroad. So while in the West every (young) woman knows what SHEIN is, consumers in China are less aware. Whether this will change in the future is not yet clear.
The fast production process
At SHEIN, new clothing items are designed and produced extremely quickly. The time from design to a finished product takes a maximum of 3 days, SHEIN indicates. This is a surprisingly short time, especially when you compare it to the average time it takes to produce fast fashion (14 days). Sustainable clothing usually has a much longer production time.
As many as 10,000 new items are added to the SHEIN shop each month. Thanks to the fast production process, SHEIN can recreate every new (micro) trend in fashion and sell it at a low price.
Did you know that SHEIN is banned in India? India banned nearly 60 Chinese apps in the country by 2021. This included SHEIN and TikTok, for example. The reason for this ban on apps is said to be that they are potential threats to national security.
How SHEIN can produce that much
SHEIN was already a big company before they got so much attention online. Many factories in China are attached to SHEIN, since the business takes a different approach than many other companies that use Chinese factories: because they pay on time.
Of course, many factories found this interesting to cooperate with. Besides a payment that arrives on time, SHEIN offers other benefits to cooperating factories:
- Factory workers receive training and support, just as they would offer to their own staff.
- Employees are paid after 30 days instead of 90 days.
- The best suppliers can take out loans in order to grow rapidly (and deliver even more to SHEIN).
- They use one software for all the factories that cooperate with SHEIN.
This software they make use of is quite interesting. Factories that join SHEIN are only allowed to use this software. In other words, this means that they cannot have their own program that SHEIN does not have insight into.
It therefore provides a lot of transparency to SHEIN. The software is called a supply chain management or SCM.
This is how SHEIN got its name recognition
SHEIN has become famous mainly thanks to social media such as TikTok and Instagram. On these platforms, SHEIN also encourages influencers, who post about the brand in exchange for free clothing or discounts. Influencers can also get paid for posting content about SHEIN clothing.
Besides, the brand regularly collaborates with famous people such as Katy Perry, Lil Nas X, Rita Ora or Hailey Bieber. By collaborating with these celebrities, the brand gets a lot of attention from their fans.
FAQ: frequently asked questions about SHEIN
From what country does SHEIN come?
SHEIN was founded in China by Chris Xu. Until recently, SHEIN had stated on its website that the company was founded in the United States.
This turned out to be incorrect, and the information has now been removed from the website. The clothing is made and shipped from China.
Where is SHEIN located?
Currently, SHEIN has a head office in China. There are also offices in European countries and the United States. Department stores of SHEIN are spread around the world, and your order is usually shipped from the nearest department store.
Can I go to a SHEIN store?
There is currently no physical store of SHEIN. So you can’t visit a SHEIN store. The webshop is, of course, always open for you.
Are SHEIN’s clothes made by child labor?
SHEIN states on its website that it distances itself from practices such as child labor. Furthermore, there is no direct evidence of child labor or exploitation in the SHEIN factories. So as far as we know, SHEIN is not guilty of this.
Want to know more about SHEIN?
Well, that’s convenient! We like to take you through the offerings of big Chinese stores such as SHEIN or AliExpress. Therefore, we provide many tips for buying the nicest products and we explain you, for example, how different matters work at SHEIN.
You might also be interested in: Is SHEIN reliable: safe shopping or is it better to stay away?
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