Global fashion retailer SHEIN announced it will be opening a new distribution center in Whitestown, Ind., with plans to bring 850 jobs to Hoosiers.
This new center will also serve as a partnership with IU Kelley School of Business to develop and publish a study on SHEIN’s economic impact on the surrounding area of Whitestown, which will be published later this year, according to a public relations representative.
“Kyle Anderson, clinical assistant professor of business economics and faculty chair of the Evening MBA Program at Kelley IUPUI, will be conducting a research study with a team of students into the economic impact of SHEIN’s new distribution facility on central Indiana,” Mark Aitken, SHEIN vice president of US public affairs, told the Journal & Courier.
With the distribution center aiming to bring in hundreds of jobs to Indiana, the exact type of jobs that will be created may be on local Hoosiers minds. Such jobs, according to Aitken, will start at $18 per hour with 100% base plan premium coverage.
“The Whitestown facility will be hiring for a full range of opportunities,” Aitken said, “from managerial to maintenance and supervisors to warehouse.”
Aitkens attributes Indiana’s reputation for establishing business relationships with brands as a key factor in choosing Whitestown as the location for this new center,
“With hubs in Los Angeles and the Washington, D.C., area, the metro-Indianapolis area made sense logistically as we look to establish a hub in the Midwest,” Aitken said.
“Indiana has long been known as a preferred location for major brands, with a great talent pool to fill the 850+ job opportunities we are looking to hire this year. Plus, two folks on our leadership team are IU alums, so we had a connection from the start.”
SHEIN’s new distribution center is looking to be operational by the third quarter of 2022, according to Aitken, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to be held sometime this summer.
This is not the first time SHEIN has made an impact on Indiana, Aitken explained.
“SHEIN has been part of Indiana for quite some time: our IU-degreed executives, and through programs like our Campus Ambassador program, which has seen over 30 ambassadors participate from across all of the IU campuses alone, and our SHEIN X design incubator program, which has seen Indiana natives like Tendai Phillips participate.”
According to SHEIN’s website, the company, founded in 2012, employs more than 10,000 people in 150-plus countries.
Margaret Christopherson is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email her at mchr[email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MargaretJC2.
https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2022/03/10/shein-picks-whitestown-distribution-center-850-new-jobs/6985125001/