Shein Wants to Become an Online Marketplace — Retail Bum

Fast fashion retailer Shein is toying with the idea of making a business pivot and turning its platform into an online marketplace.

According to a memo sent by Shein to its investors, the retailer is considering plans to sell third-party merchandise alongside its name-brand products.

“The marketplace platform makes available a range of additional merchandise and shipping options, and we expect it to result in increased customer engagement and satisfaction,” the memo said.

The news comes weeks after the company hired Southeast Asian e-commerce giant Lazada’s co-president, Jessica Liu, as its vice president of global brand operations to manage international brand partnerships.

Liu’s appointment was widely seen as a key step in building out the executive team for a potential pivot to a marketplace model as she worked for Amazon China nearly two decades ago. More recently, she ran the luxury division of Tmall, which Alibaba owns.

The company has recently also put its focus on divesting its operations, manufacturing apparel in Turkey, and opening a warehouse in Poland.

This year, Shein is on track to generate $30 billion in gross merchandise value, higher than market expectations. In comparison, H&M sold $19.3 billion worth of products last year.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on December 14, 2022.