Making a Bigger Impact in Latin America

Last month’s announcement of my role with SHEIN in Latin America marks the first of a few very exciting opportunities ahead as I begin focusing the majority of my time and capital in Latin America, a region with significant, untapped potential. 

My ties to Latin America run deep – an immigrant from Bolivia; the founder of Brightstar, a company I grew to become the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company; the launch of the $8 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest VC fund in the region; President of Club Bolívar, Bolivia’s largest professional soccer team; and friend to so many talented entrepreneurs, founders and others I’ve met in the region along the way.

In this next phase of my career, I’m grateful to be able to fulfil my passion for Latin America and make an even bigger impact in the region. I will make meaningful investments into a very small, select group of global companies that are based in Latin America or that are looking to expand into Latin America, and help unlock significant value creation as these companies grow and scale their businesses. 

As part of this new strategy, I’m incredibly excited to announce SHEIN as my first investment. SHEIN is revolutionizing the world of fashion and apparel by bringing a technology-enabled and data-driven approach to the design, manufacturing, distribution, and promotion of clothes and more. 

SHEIN is unique for its on-demand manufacturing technology that connects suppliers to its agile supply chain, reducing inventory waste and enabling them to deliver a variety of affordable products to customers around the world.

Not only is SHEIN good for the consumer, it’s also great for the local economy. As we all know, the retail industry has gone through many shifts – from “offline” and in-store shopping, to next-day e-commerce, and now to agile, responsive, on-demand production. SHEIN is part of a new generation of companies that leverage technology-enabled solutions to disrupt traditional retail business models and provide more targeted selection to consumers – all at affordable prices.

The opportunity for Latin America is tremendous over the next decade as more companies near-shore their operations, bringing supply chains and production closer to the end consumer. There’s no reason a shirt is made and then shipped halfway around the world, spending more time in transit than on the manufacturing floor. This is another reason SHEIN will be transformational in the region as they are committed to supporting near-shoring and eventually enabling local factories to produce for Latin American consumers by giving them the technology and know-how to compete at a world-class level.

In my eyes, SHEIN is a story of inclusion and empowerment – offering a variety of products to more consumers, by giving local small and medium-sized factories and manufacturers the chance to grow their businesses. By placing local factories and manufacturers at the center of their model, SHEIN is allowing the real winners to be the manufacturers, the factory workers, and the logistics companies that are the backbone of SHEIN in Latin America. This is different than how large e-commerce platforms work today, and I know this will be a profound positive change for the region.

I spent time last week visiting SHEIN factories and distribution centers, and on my trip, I had the chance to interact with factory owners, entrepreneurs and SHEIN employees who are passionate about the power of SHEIN’s business model and the benefits to consumers and the local economy. Following my visit, I’m even more confident in the potential for growth and job creation in Latin America. I’m excited to get to work as Chairman and build an expert Advisory board to help SHEIN win in the region.

Thank you to SHEIN’s founder Sky Xu for allowing me the opportunity to be part of what I am sure will become an incredible success story that will be replicated across the globe.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shein-appoints-marcelo-claure-as-chairman-of-shein-latin-america-301734839.html