Weeks after its latest venture SHEIN Marketplace launched in the US, SHEIN is reportedly now looking to arm its senior leadership teams with more local talent.
According to Linkedin job postings, SHEIN is recruiting a US head of logistics, who would liaise between offices in the US and Singapore, where the company is headquartered. SHEIN moved its headquarters there earlier this year to evade China’s tougher rules on seeking offshore IPOs as part of its “aggressive” global expansion.
Marketplace is SHEIN’s latest attempt at reinvention after its brand image was tarnished by accusations of plagiarism and unethical labour practices. Much like marketplace tabs launched by other fast fashion sites like ASOS, SHEIN Marketplace connects users to retailers based locally, essentially acting as a middleman between buyers and suppliers.
SHEIN clearly has its sights set on rivalling Amazon, with products on Marketplace covering a wide range of categories. “In addition to featuring a wider selection of fashion, beauty and lifestyle products, the marketplace also introduces new categories as a way to offer our customers an even more convenient and seamless shopping experience,” a company spokesperson told Modern Retail.
The brand already beat out rivals in the fashion industry to become the world’s top-selling apparel brand last year, garnering success through its “data-driven” model of rapidly mass-producing trending looks on social media.
But the US is keen to halt the international expansion of SHEIN, with lawmakers from both political parties calling for SHEIN’s IPO application to be paused until it proves it doesn’t use forced labour in its supply chains. SHEIN has been accused of supporting the cotton industry of China’s Xinjiang province, which supplies one-fifth of the world’s cotton.
SHEIN Marketplace is currently operating in Brazil and the US far and is set to be rolled out globally, though company statements have not yet revealed specific upcoming locations.
