SHEIN unveils a permanent location in Tokyo

SHEIN, a Chinese fashion eCommerce company, intends to create a permanent facility to complement its internet brand with a physical presence. A representative for SHEIN told Reuters that this location is the company’s first actual event space worldwide. This follows the opening of the brand’s first pop-up store in Japan earlier this year, as well as a temporary location in Osaka in October.

With the physical location, shoppers can now explore clothing in-store and utilize QR codes to make purchases on the company’s digital platform. If necessary, the room may also serve as a stage for fashion presentations and designer events, according to the spokeswoman.

Shein is well-known for using channels such as Instagram and Tiktok and collaborating with influencers to market its low-cost fashions.

Despite the controversies surrounding the platform’s sustainability objectives and design duplication, the Nanjing-based app is gaining headway in international markets such as the United States and Europe. In April, the platform was valued at slightly over $100 billion, according to a report in the Financial Times.

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SHEIN has introduced SHEIN Exchange, an integrated online peer-to-peer resale marketplace where previously owned SHEIN products can be bought and sold, in an effort to remove much of the negative surrounding the platform. The goal of the location is to meet community demand by offering a centralized location for clients to become active participants in circularity and to highlight the advantages of purchasing pre-owned apparel over brand-new clothing.

In addition to the news, it also announced goals to lower its entire value chain’s emissions by 25% by 2030. The fast fashion company also planned to provide up to US$7.6 million in programmatic funding to Apparel Impact Institute, a non-profit organisation dedicated to decarbonising and modernising the fashion industry supply chain, in order to develop a roadmap for reducing emissions within SHEIN’s supply chain.

In recent years, a growing number of online-only firms have realized the benefits of opening physical stores. In Singapore, for instance, Love,Bonito, an online-only store, has significantly expanded its retail operations. It is currently expanding its retail shops to overseas areas including Hong Kong and the United States. Similarly, in the midst of the pandemic, local online-first jewelry retailer By Invite Only launched its retail locations throughout Singapore.

According to industry participants, having real retail outlets not only adds credibility to online firms, but also lowers the barrier to entry for local brands due to the declining rental market during COVID-19.