The Chinese fashion company Shein has really caught the attention of young Danes with their trendy and cheap products and their app is now one of the most downloaded apps in Denmark – and in the US the app has overtaken the otherwise popular shopping app Amazon.
According to consulting company Mobile Actions’ list of the most downloaded apps in Denmark, Shein is in third place, surpassed only by Zalando and IKEA on Google Play, and in App Store Shine is second after IKEA’s app. The Chinese company is thus competing with big fashion companies such as H&M and Zara, which are popular in Denmark.
Shein was founded in October 2008 by Chris Xu, who was born in the United States but hails from China and that’s where the company’s headquarters are located. Shein was originally founded under the name She Inside and started by selling wedding dresses and bridal gowns online. Shein only exports its goods and does not sell domestically within China. Shein also has a big presence on social media and the company seems to appear on every platform.
According to Niels Ralund, e-commerce director at Dansk Erhverv, it is especially Shein’s ability to exploit social media that is the reason for the widespread use. In an interview with TV2, he says, “The special thing about it is that it is a phenomenon that has gone over our heads (the older generations, red). But my 10-year-old grandson has heard of it on YouTube. They spread via social media like TikTok and YouTube, where young women run these try-on-haul sessions for all their friends who can sit and watch for 20 minutes that they unpack something from Shein and try it on.”
