SHEIN Opens Dublin HQ, Plans 30 Pop-Up Events Across Increasingly Important EMEA Markets

SHEIN has officially launched its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Dublin City Centre, Ireland and is planning to host approximately 30 pop-up store events across the region this year to boost its profile with customers.

The news comes as fellow Asia-based discount shopping app Temu picks up steam in the U.S., where monthly active users of Temu surpassed SHEIN for the first time in April 2023, according to Sensor Tower. Temu also quietly made its debut in Europe last month.

SHEIN also has completed its latest funding rounded, bringing in $2 billion in new investments, as had been expected; however, the company’s valuation in this round was cut by approximately one-third from one year ago, down to $66 billion from its last valuation of $100 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The decreased valuation was attributed to the wider decline in tech company stock prices as well as rising geopolitical headwinds and increased competition. SHEIN generated $23 billion in revenue and net profits of $800 million in 2022, people close to the company told WSJ. The company has reportedly set a target to grow revenue by 40% this year, which will be propelled, at least in part, by an expansion of its EMEA business.

The new Dublin office will serve as the company’s strategic IT hub for the region. “Ireland’s pro-business environment and great access to talent make it an excellent hub for companies, including SHEIN, to manage and grow our business in the region,” said Leonard Lin, Global Head of Government Relations for SHEIN in a statement.

In 2022, SHEIN opened three new distribution centers, in Poland, Italy and the United Arab Emirates, bringing the total number of SHEIN “nearshoring bases” in EMEA to eight. Nearshoring is a key component of SHEIN’s business model, allowing the company to maintain the speedy fulfillment times that have helped drive its popularity with consumers.

SHEIN also is planning to host 30 or so pop-up events across EMEA this year, to allow “consumers to experience products first-hand.” The most recent event took place at Opera Lane in Cork, Ireland from May 12 to May 17, and a similar pop-up event last year at the Jervis Shopping Centre in Dublin attracted more than 4,000 visitors per day, according to the company.

Additionally, SHEIN’s in-house fashion incubator program, SHEIN X, has already collaborated with 390 designers and artists across EMEA since its launch in January 2021, and SHEIN said it aims to continue to grow this number in the coming years. 

Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney attended the opening ceremony for the Dublin office, where he met with Lin and other company leaders to discuss SHEIN’s strategy in the country. This included discussing the growth of SHEIN’s workforce in Dublin to fill roles in data analytics, security engineering, finance management and legal, as well as expanding SHEIN’s graduate program in Ireland. SHEIN aims to fill 30 key roles in the Ireland office by the end of 2023, with a view to increase that number as the company grows. 

As part of the company’s social impact efforts, SHEIN also has made monetary donations and donations-in-kind in the form of apparel, household items and home decorations to various women’s and children’s charities across EMEA, including The Marie Keating Foundation and The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Ireland.