Taking a Stand Against SHEIN's Neighbourhood Pop-up
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This weekend, I did something that I had never done before. And my wife has never been less attracted to me. I wrote a community complaint letter.?
It's not SHEIN's first pop-up store. Not even their first in Australia. But this was the first in my neighbourhood. And it really put the tart in my toast.?
Since Christmas, I've spoken with at least ten medium-sized retail founders doing it really tough. Most have been in business for over five years, some more than a decade. Many have stores. They have teams. They have overheads. Sales are flat or slightly growing, but profit is shrinking.
Not only is it tough on their business, it's so stressful on them personally. I am genuinely worried about a handful because they have everything on the line. The pressure is unrelenting.
So, when your local shopping centre celebrates a temporary circus from an overseas player with a reputation for cheap products and unethical practices, it's hard not to be irked.
If I were a long-term occupant of the centre such as City Beach, CottonOn or Sportsgirl, I'd be having some very serious conversations. No amount of footfall is worth the unachievable adjustment of customer expectations.?
As for the centre itself? Sure, there's the short-term publicity and footfall. But it's not a smart strategy. SHEIN favours pop-up stores. There are limited permanent stores around the world. It's a smash-and-grab for new customers who will continue to shop with them online. This isn't the future of physical retail.?
There's only one winner in this stunt. It's not the shopping centre. It's not Australian retailers. And it definitely isn't the environment or the workers.?
I might get addicted to this letter-writing thing. Retirement is looking good.
Cheers, Bushy
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Nathan Bush is an Australian ecommerce consultant and advisor for Australian retail brands. Contact him to discuss your next project.