According to the latest foreign media reports, Chinese cross-border fast-fashion retail platform SHEIN has been touted as the front-runner to buy British fashion retail giant Arcadia Group.

When Arcadia went into liquidation on the evening of November 30, retail analysts were expecting interest from the majority of companies. Next, Boohoo, Miss Selfridge, Frasers Group and Marks & Spencer could be among potential interested buyers. Boohoo, an online fashion retailer, was previously thought to be the ultimate catcher. But SHEIN is rumoured to have made a more competitive offer. According to the report, Arcadia’s bid deadline is January 18, and we believe the answer to the mystery will be clear soon.

According to data released by SimilarWeb on January 19, SHEIN’s main site (SHEIN.COM) has the United States as its leading market in terms of global market traffic, followed by Italy, France, Brazil and Spain. The United Kingdom does not make the top five.

But according to its national regional site, SHEIN.co. UK, its traffic is also significant in the UK, where it has fallen recently. So, whether it’s because the main site needs to expand more, or to continue to build its presence in the UK, buying Arcadia is worth a try at some point.

It is reported that Topshop continues to close due to the global pandemic, which has a significant impact on the business and trade of Arcadia Group and is on the brink of bankruptcy. In contrast, China, especially the cross-border independent website brand sellers represented by SHEIN, are bucking the trend of growth in the epidemic. They not only won nearly 10 billion dollars in revenue in 2020, but also began to touch other categories.

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SHEINs success is known for its supply chain layout, which is what the industry is most talked-about about its model. On January 15, SHEIN published its 2021 investment announcement, and the strong requirements for suppliers became clear gradually.

Seen from the content of the announcement, the supplier recruitment section of SHEIN includes FOB suppliers, ODM suppliers and secondary process factories.

First, for FOB (free on board) suppliers, the requirements put forward by SHEIN to the suppliers are that under the condition that SHEIN provides sample clothes and paper samples, the suppliers need to control the delivery period within 7 to 11 days, and bear the ability of “undertaking 100-500 small-scale orders”, and the factory area of such FOB suppliers is “at least 2000 square meters”, and the factory parking space is “no less than” 80 “. According to the official account, these suppliers are mainly responsible for SHEIN European and American women’s wear, Middle East women’s wear, theme dress, men’s wear and children’s clothing.

Second, for ODM suppliers, SHEIN requires them to have the basic design and manufacturing capacity, and be able to make their own contributions for supply. For such suppliers, “the factory area shall not be less than 1000 square meters”, the workshop parking space shall not be less than 50 people, and the delivery period shall be “10-15 days”. During the period, ODM suppliers shall complete a series of work from design, plate making, production to delivery, and have the production capacity of “100-500 pieces”. The ODM suppliers mainly produce Yoga suits, swimsuits, European and American women’s wear, children’s wear, light businessmen’s wear (shirts, polo shirts, trousers), home wear, Middle East dresses, crochets, sweaters, jeans, etc.

Third, for FOB and ODM suppliers, SHEIN puts forward several “bonus items” for potential cooperative suppliers under the same conditions:

· Priority in Pearl River Delta

· Factory 5S management is preferred

· Good at the production mode of quick return of small order

· bear business license and issue VAT invoice

· Integration of R & D and production (with design department and version room) (for ODM suppliers)

Fourth, in addition to FOB and ODM sellers, SHEIN also has investment demand for secondary process plants. “Have business license; washing, printing and dyeing plants need to have environmental protection certificate; washing and dyeing plant area is more than 1000 square meters; printing, embroidery and composite plant area is more than 500 square meters; the remaining plant area is more than 300 square meters” is the basic requirement of SHEIN for secondary process plants. The manufacturers meeting the requirements will be responsible for SHEIN’s washing, dyeing, printing, embroidery, composite, pleated cotton, cloth bag buckle, burning, computer nail beads, crimping, special machine, hot stamping and other business.

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An insider close to SHEIN told Houlong School that he had “entered SHEIN as a brand” and was responsible for logistics and transportation. In addition to the mature production ecological chain in Guangdong, the “Pearl River Delta region” specially marked in the new investment invitation statement this time seems to be the “strategic position” for SHEIN to accurately win. In addition, Zhejiang is also the point for SHEIN to vigorously lay out, and the American outdoor home brand Outer, which it participated in the investment before, is also the focus of SHEIN’s efforts. It is also a product produced in Ningbo area of Zhejiang Province. If there is any connection here, it is worth studying.

SHEIN’s GMV of nearly 10 billion dollars in 2020 has obviously not reached the growth ceiling. Whether SHEIN under the “department store model” can complete its IPO in 2021 as the outside world guessed, and whether the layout of the British market can enable SHEIN to embrace the second 10 billion dollars, it is worth paying attention to!