Shein’s plans for pop-up stores

Fernando Murad

March 10, 2023 – 6:47 am

This Saturday the 11th, Shein, the online fashion and lifestyle retailer, opens its third pop-up store in the Brazilian market. This time in Salvador, at Shopping da Bahia, the temporary store will remain open until Monday the 13th. Pre-registration was required to access the space, and all available spaces were sold out in less than an hour. Every three days, the space is expected to be visited by a thousand people.

Last year, the retailer opened temporary pop-up stores in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Each received 5,500 visitors, with the Rio unit in 10 days and the São Paulo unit in five. In both cases, 90% of the items offered at discount prices were sold. In El Salvador, the goal is also to negotiate 90% of the nine thousand pieces that are available.

Tangibilization of the concept

But sales are not Shea’s main strategy goal. The Asian retailer’s activities are driven by a mobile app and website. Investing in offline, according to Felipe Feistler, general manager of Shein in Brazil, is to be close to different audiences in the country and show them the brand’s mission: to make fashion accessible to everyone.

Brazil is already among Shein’s top five markets worldwide (Credit: Disclosure)

“People like to touch clothes. The pop-up shows Shein’s mission with a variety of products, for children, men, women, plus size, and people can feel the pillars of the brand: variety, quality and low prices,” emphasizes Felipe, who has been with the company since May 2022. Before that, he worked almost three years in Shopee.

With positive reviews of the pop-up shop experience, Shein plans to organize four more later this year. Cities are not defined. The possibility of returning to already visited destinations is not excluded. The Prado agency is Shea’s partner in opening a store in Salvador. He also worked at the São Paulo pop-up.

Experiences behind the window

At 500 square meters, the pop-up at Shopping da Bahia is the largest in total area that Shein has ever opened in Brazil. The space includes Instagrammable environments where visitors can take pictures of their favorite looks and share them on social media.

Whoever uses the hashtag #SHEINBahia, which indicates the official profile of Shein Brasil, will be able to withdraw an exclusive gift. In addition, visitors will have a discount of 15% without a minimum value and 20% on amounts above R$400. Physical purchases will be subject to stock availability. If you want to buy a product that is already sold out in the store, you can buy it through the app, with a special discount.

“Once they enter the store, customers want to go online. The online and offline worlds, which were separate, are beginning to merge. We are discovering this new world after the pandemic. People want offline experiences again,” says Felipe.

Operation Shein in Brazil

With operations reaching consumers in more than 150 countries, the retailer entered Brazil in 2020. At the time, it was doing cross-border trade. Last year, after the entry of the general director, the process of gathering the commercial and marketing team began, which is still ongoing. Currently, 100 people work in the São Paulo office.

Marketing work started 100% digital and started working offline last year. Also, in 2022, the company aired its first TV commercial, during the Black Friday campaign, with the agency Otzi Filmes, and invested in actions with influencers.

In 2022, Shein’s app had 48.8 million downloads and was the second most downloaded app in the country, according to the company. In the same period, the retailer recorded a fivefold increase in sales in the country. “Brazil is relevant, it’s Top 5 globally for Shein,” says Felipe.

On the other hand, Shein ranked first on Google’s ranking of the most searched fashion brands in 2022 in 113 countries, including Brazil. Zara, in second place, was the leader in 26 countries, followed by Zalando, with 18. In 2021, the brand was not present in the ranking.

Business model

To deliver on the promise of affordable fashion, the company relies on a manufacturing model. “Almost on demand. We make 100, 200 pieces, test demand and only then measure. Traditional retailers produce five thousand pieces at a time. If you don’t get it right, it creates a waste of supplies and tissue. With this model, we estimate a 20 percent reduction in losses,” explains the CEO.

The target of criticism for poor working conditions in supplier factories and the use of synthetic materials derived from fossil fuel refining, Shein announced in December 2022 an investment of US$15 million in supplier factories.

The amount will be applied to physical improvements in the production facilities. More than 100 projects will be awarded by the end of this year, and around 300 at the end of four years.

The effort is part of the Supplier Community Empowerment Program (SCEP), Shein’s initiative to ensure that employees who work for its suppliers are treated fairly and with respect. In 2022, 2,600 independent audits were conducted in factories, according to Shein.