Leaving the screen for the real world: Shane opens a physical store

Shine, the Chinese online fashion giant that is very popular in Israel, intends to open its first permanent physical space this month, with the aim of strengthening the online brand, Reuters news agency reported.

The chosen branch, which according to the company’s spokesperson will be used as the first physical space of its kind, will open on November 13 in Tokyo’s Harajuku fashion district. Buyers will be able to go through the variety of clothes offered in the store and scan a barcode that will enable online purchase of the items. According to the spokesperson, the space could also be used to host fashion shows and other designer events.

The company already operated several pop-up stores in Japan earlier this year, and in October even opened a temporary branch in Osaka in the west of the country, but never opened a permanent store.

The site selling a wide variety of clothes and accessories made in China was launched in 2008, and is mainly aimed at young women. Today, its largest market is the USA, but it is also known in Europe and Asia, although not in China itself. In February, the company froze plans for an IPO in the USA, against the background of the volatility in the capital markets and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to a person familiar with the matter, Bashein is satisfied with their stable financial position and preferred not to risk reputation by executing a deal in markets characterized by great uncertainty.

in its last capital raising round in April The company was valued at more than 100 billion dollars, which made it the third most valuable private company in the world, after Elon Musk’s Spice X and Bitdance, the owner of the TikTok application. According to a report in the “Financial Times”, Shane sold 16 billion dollars worth of goods in the first half of the year, a jump of over 50% compared to a year earlier.

Shine’s forecast for the current year is for sales of $30 billion, which will make it the largest specialty clothing retailer in the world. for comparison, The Spanish Inditex, the owner of brands such as Zara and Barashka, and which is now defined as the largest clothing retailer, reported sales of $27.3 billion in 2021. However, Shane’s profitability has been hurt by rampant inflation. According to a report on the Chinese news website 36kr, Shine’s profit rate was 6% in 2021, and the forecast is for a similar figure this year.

The great popularity of the site has led to the fact that some of the largest e-commerce companies in China, including Pindoduo and Bitdance, have launched platforms imitating Shane in recent months. For example, Bitdance’s competing platform is called If Yooou and was launched in the first quarter of this year. It adjusts production orders based on real-time feedback from buyers on the site, while Pinduduo launched the Temu platform in September, which draws on its parent company’s supply chain management expertise.