Shein, the Chinese e-commerce textile giant that is standing up to giants like Inditex, H&M or Primark in Europe with fashion at very low prices, invoices its business in Spain through an Irish company. All the purchases made are carried out through the company Infinity Styles Ecommerce, which is based in Dublin and which, according to the documentation submitted to the Irish Commercial Registry, to which the Economist has had access, depends in turn on Roadget Business , a company domiciled in Singapore, another low tax territory.
Shein, which has declined to comment on its tax strategy, which, in any case, is completely legal, was created in 2008 by Chris Xu under the motto ‘everyone has the right to enjoy the beauty of fashion’. The firm maintains a very aggressive pricing policy, with discounts currently in Spain of up to 80%, having
Thanks to advanced manufacturing technology and an agile chain between suppliers, production and distributors, the company is achieving a strong reduction in costs that has allowed it a rapid international expansion since 2015.
Presence in 150 countries
Currently, its market covers 150 countries in Europe, America, Australia and the Middle East. One of the chain’s most important markets is in Spain, with a local distribution center. Its influence on social networks, such as Instagram or Tik Tok, has brought the brand closer to a very specific audience, generation Z, who are young people between 18 and 27 years of age. Thanks to this, Shein has managed to double its turnover year after year. In 2021, according to Bloomberg, it managed to close the year with sales valued at 16,000 million euros.
The firm has also started negotiations with investors to close a financing round that will allow it to obtain 1,000 million dollars of liquidity. This would put the company’s valuation at about 100,000 million dollars, a figure that neither Inditex nor H&M together, their main rivals, can achieve.
62% share
At the moment, the brand accumulates 62% of the share of users in the fashion sector and four out of ten people use a shopping application from their mobile. The second app, Vinted (online marketplace based in Lithuania) has a share of 38%. Likewise, Shein is the second best valued platform, only behind the German Zalando. In addition to taking e-commerce by storm, Shein is now testing the physical world.
In this sense, between today and Sunday, a temporary store with which it intends to increase its brand image and also try a commercial space at street level. On the other hand, and regardless of its tax strategy, the brand boasts of being committed to the 2030 Agenda and has signed the United Nations global pact, by which they support the 10 principles focused on human rights, the environment, anti-corruption and work.
Shein also assures that it has a philanthropic side and that it makes monetary and in-kind contributions. According to the company’s 2021 Sustainability and Social Impact Report, she donates 10,000 pairs of shoes a year that are distributed by the English organization Soles & Souls. In addition, she donated $50,000 to the US Cancer Association.
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