What is the secret of SHEIN, a fast fashion company that made a splash with the Chinese version of Uniqlo, being able to record 130 trillion won in annual sales within 10 years of its launch?
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 3rd (local time) that Shine and Shine’s parent company, Joytop Business, have been sued for at least 50 cases of design plagiarism by small businesses as well as famous fashion companies such as Ralph Lauren and Oakley over the past three years.
The media pointed out that controversy over design plagiarism often occurs in the fast fashion industry, but Shine has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit 10 times more than its rival Hennes & Moritz AB (H&M) since 2019.
Stussy, which is classified as an expensive brand among U.S. street fashion brands, filed a lawsuit, claiming that Shine is selling Stussy’s T-shirt for $17.67 (about 23,000 won).Shein also used the album design of rock group Nirvana for T-shirts without permission.It has also been confirmed that Xuin uses works by independent designers who are popular for their unique designs in Internet spaces such as Instagram without permission.
Experts pointed out that the controversy over plagiarism is close to everyday life due to the nature of the fast fashion industry, which requires rapid development of various designs, but SHEIN is at a different level.
Swedish fast fashion brand H&M has also been accused of design plagiarism, but it is only one-tenth of Shine’s.
However, SHEIN says there is no fault with the design plagiarism problem. The logic is that plagiarism is the responsibility of contractors because they are responsible for selling products supplied by contractors.
“It is not our business model to infringe on intellectual property rights,” SHEIN said in a statement. “Shine’s contractors are obligated to abide by such company policies.”SHEIN is a fashion company whose corporate value jumped to $100 billion in about 14 years thanks to the support of big investors such as Sequoia Capital China and General Atlantic. In particular, the company is said to have captivated consumers of Generation Z (young people born in the 1990s to 2000s) with online influencer, an attractive price range of $5 and up to 6,000 new products a day.
Thanks to this, SHEIN’s sales increased sixfold in nearly two years to $19 billion, catching up with H&M’s annual sales, according to Credit Suisse, a global investment bank.
Susan Scafidi, a professor at Fordham University Law School in New York, criticized, “SHEIN has emerged as a ‘usual suspect’ who plagiarizes designs among ultra fast fashion companies.”
Leha Keller, a Los Angeles-based designer in the U.S., also filed a lawsuit by selling virtually the same products as accessories sold on his website, adding, “Shine is out of control. Nevertheless, a lot of consumers are buying from Shine,” he lamented.
JENNIFER KIM
ASIA JOURNAL
