The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Shein has renamed its high-end offering, once known as Shein Premium, MOTF and will launch an independent website for the brand to better access higher-end fashion consumers around the world, according to a release on an official WeChat account affiliated with the company.
The ultra-fast fashion retailer was founded by entrepreneur, Chris Xu, in the Chinese city of Nanjing 12 years ago. It has grown rapidly (market intelligence platform CB Insights valued Shein at $15.8 billion early in 2020) by leveraging China’s highly-developed manufacturing capabilities to dispatch an ever-changing and increasing array of fashion products to European and American consumers, putting Shein in head-to-head competition with digital-first players like Boohoo, Fashion Nova and PrettyLittleThing.
Fuelled by the pandemic-induced swing to e-commerce globally, Shein’s estimated revenue for 2020 topped 63.5 billion yuan (close to $10 billion). It was, reportedly, the eighth year in a row that Shein has seen revenue growth of more than 100 percent.
The next problem for Shein, as well as its competitors, is where to find new avenues for growth, and this move to more premium fashion products through MOTF is just the latest in a series of category expansions the company has recently unveiled in an effort to tap new revenue streams.
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In December 2020, Shein launched its beauty brand SheGlam, which fits with the original fashion vertical’s ultra-fast, low cost ethos, offering an array of colour cosmetics and beauty tools priced between $1 and $10. Earlier this year, Shein also expanded into pet products, launching a range of pet clothing, toys, slings and leashes with the pet clothing priced between $3 and $5.
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.