During a period of profound adjustment in the global economic landscape, China's cross-border e-commerce has demonstrated strong resilience and vibrant innovation vitality, becoming a key force in stabilizing the foundation of foreign trade and promoting economic growth. According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, the total import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce in China reached 2.63 trillion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%. Of particular note is that the scale has grown more than tenfold over the past five years, with a growth rate significantly higher than traditional trade models.

In this field, cross-border platforms represented by SHEIN have shown particularly outstanding performance. According to GlobalData statistics, SHEIN has occupied 1.53% of the global fashion market share, successfully surpassing ZARA, H&M, and Uniqlo to become the third largest fashion retailer in the world. But its significance is not only in business ranking, but also in deeply integrating the supply chain as a "chain owner" and driving the transformation of the overall manufacturing industry.

SHEIN's success began with a deep integration of the domestic manufacturing ecosystem. Through the dual wheel drive of "independent brand+platform", its platform model has covered more than 300 urban industrial belts across the country, achieving full coverage of 21 cities in Guangdong and extending to manufacturing strong provinces such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu. From Shantou underwear and Dongguan hardware, to Humen women's clothing and Huizhou women's shoes, each local characteristic industry leverages SHEIN's digital overseas channel to transform manufacturing advantages into global competitiveness.

More importantly, this model has created a huge employment ecology. From sewing workers and quality inspectors on the production line, to intelligent sorting personnel and cross-border operation talents in warehousing and logistics, SHEIN has built a full chain employment matrix of "production warehousing logistics operation". During the peak period of the Guangzhou Zengcheng Smart Supply Chain Base alone, 100000 industrial talents will be introduced, and the Zhaoqing Industrial Park is expected to drive employment for 50000 people. At present, its ecosystem has directly or indirectly supported over one million job opportunities, becoming an important force for stabilizing employment and benefiting people's livelihoods.

The traditional fashion industry has long been trapped in a vicious cycle of high inventory and high waste. SHEIN breaks through with its flexible supply chain model of "quick response to small orders": the first order of all new products is only 100 to 200 pieces, relying on big data to track global fashion trends and consumer feedback in real time. If sales are hot, orders will be quickly returned, and if performance is poor, stop losses immediately. This "on-demand production" model controls the overall inventory rate of the brand at a single digit level, far below the industry average inventory pressure of 30%.

This change not only significantly reduces resource waste, but also allows brands to transform cost advantages into price dividends, continuously providing global consumers with cost-effective fashion choices. SHEIN is redefining the sustainable boundaries of "fashion" through digital means.

However, unlike many "light asset overseas" enterprises, SHEIN has always insisted on continuous investment in the domestic supply chain. In recent years, it has continuously invested over 10 billion yuan to strengthen the construction of a smart supply chain centered in Guangzhou and radiating to cities such as Zhaoqing, Foshan, and Jiangmen. In 2024, the first phase of the Xiyin Bay Area supply chain project in Zengcheng, Guangzhou officially started construction, and after reaching full capacity, the annual export value is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan; In 2025, the "Xiyin Bay Area Smart Industrial Park" in Zhaoqing will be put into use, and the "Xiyin Bay Area Western Smart Industrial Park" will also be completed by the end of the year, with an annual service trade export of over 3.5 billion yuan.

These hard core investments not only build an efficient, intelligent, and scalable logistics hub, but also promote the formation of a modern fashion industry cluster in the Pearl River Delta that integrates research and development design, intelligent manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics, injecting strong momentum into the global competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing.

In today's world where sustainable development is increasingly becoming a global consensus, SHEIN has incorporated environmental responsibility into its core strategy. Recently, its net zero emissions target for 2050, as well as its recent and long-term scientific emission reduction targets, have been officially approved by the "Scientific Carbon Target Initiative" (SBTi), becoming a pioneer among fashionable overseas enterprises.

SHEIN's 2030 and 2050 emission reduction targets are based on 2023, aiming to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the entire value chain by 2050. With the support of sustainable development consulting firm Anthesis Group, SHEIN has developed a decarbonization roadmap covering the entire value chain: prioritizing the transition to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and gradually phasing out fossil fuels and reducing fugitive emissions at the direct emissions from self owned facility operations and indirect emissions from electricity use levels (Scope 1&2). By 2030, SHEIN will gradually increase the procurement and use of renewable electricity to 100% annually.; In terms of carbon emissions in the Scope 3 value chain, the focus is on promoting recycled polyester, supporting suppliers' green transformation, and systematically reducing carbon footprint through optimizing global transportation networks and improving packaging efficiency. This precise and quantifiable action demonstrates the responsibility of Chinese enterprises in participating in global environmental governance.

Behind the efficient operation of the supply chain, SHEIN also emphasizes the value of "people". The "5-year 500 million" supplier empowerment plan launched by it not only improves production efficiency, but also focuses on the quality of life and family well-being of workers. Up to now, we have helped over 200 cooperative supplier factories complete the upgrading and renovation of over 500000 square meters of factory buildings, improving nearly 14000 square meters of canteens, dormitories, and multifunctional spaces.

Even more moving is that 25 "Children's Homes" funded by SHEIN have been established in multiple locations, providing care and growth services for the children of supplier employees, benefiting nearly 55000 people in total. ”This concept of coexistence and symbiosis is quietly changing the humanistic background of traditional manufacturing ecology.

From a global fashion leader to a practitioner of sustainable development, SHEIN's growth trajectory reflects the profound transformation of China's cross-border e-commerce from "selling goods" to "building chains" and from "scale" to "quality". Driven by the synergy of breadth expansion, depth transformation, investment, precision management, and temperature care, a new paradigm of China's intelligent manufacturing going global that is more resilient, responsible, and humanistic is accelerating its formation.