Shop Jeen: teen site conquers social media but faces customer backlash
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Version 0 of 1. In a world where Tumblr stars, Snapchat phenoms, and aspiring Instagram models rack up the kind of online following that rivals traditional celebrities, Erin Yogasundram holds center court. Like other young people, Yogasundram has an Instagram feed peppered with selfies, memes, and close-up snaps of nail art. But unlike many 23-year-olds, her photos elicit responses like “My queen!,” “Why are you so perfect?” and “MOM”—which, in teen speak, is arguably the highest compliment of them all. Considering Yogasundram has spent the past three years growing into an entrepreneurial, albeit polarizing, role model for generation Z, the labels are surprisingly accurate. Yogasundram, a New York native, is the founder and CEO of the online boutique Shop Jeen. Just like its creator, the shop favors pouty selfies, funny celebrity references, and the kinds of cleavage-and-butt-baring outfits that practically guarantee school detention. The site’s homepage feels like a dizzying combination of Tumblr gifs, 1990s nostalgia, and the incessant strobe lights in a dark karaoke room. Those who can train their eyes to move past the emojis and the blinking lettering are offered the opportunity to shop hundreds of items of merchandise, all of it slogan-centric and painfully trendy. Bestsellers include swimsuits with “Supreme Bitch” printed on the chest, a “Turnt Jesus” iPhone case, and a coin purse that reads “Weed Money”. Shop Jeen clearly isn’t for everyone (including all members of the population older than 20). But for a massive corner of the internet, its founder is Literally Everything. Yogasundram created Shop Jeen in 2012 while she was a student at George Washington University. As she explained to New York magazine, the inspiration behind her business derived from prior fashion internships at Alexander Wang and Vogue. “All of the internships solidified for me that I didn’t want to graduate and go work at any of these places for $30,000 a year,” she said. As a teenager, Yogasundram earned supplemental income by selling everything from celebrity autographs to Celine bags on eBay. She used her savings to build the e-shop from her dorm room. In the beginning, Shop Jeen was accessories-only, with Yogasundram constantly scouring Etsy for jewelry and bags that she could resell online. It was a one-woman operation: Yogasundram built the website, and modeled and shipped the merchandise herself. But when her business became too big for her dorm, the then college junior decided to abandon her full-ride scholarship and expand her business. She’s since grown her team (which includes creative director Amelia Muqbel) and recently relocated to LA to expand even further. From the beginning, Shop Jeen’s success has been inextricably tied to social media. Yogasundram told the Cut that she built up the shop’s initial Instagram account by following every single person who followed Nasty Gal, a brand with a similar aesthetic (and a similarly driven female CEO). After these other accounts followed her back, she’d unfollow them a day later. The strategy clearly worked, since @ShopJeen has managed to reflect a clear-cut vision that’s snowballed into 411,000 followers within just a few years. Although the growth of her business turned Yogasundram herself into an internet celebrity-cum-entrepreneur, the newfound attention that so many teens would die for has presented a major problem: more eyeballs are now aware of the company’s problems. Shop Jeen’s first major lawsuit was in 2014, when Chanel sued the site for selling faux Chanel No 5 iPhone covers. The case was eventually settled, but Shop Jeen is currently dealing with additional controversy, fending off accusations from vendors about delayed payments, false promises, and more. Jezebel recently reported that unless vendors threatened legal action, they wouldn’t get paid on time – if at all. Shop Jeen’s former buyer (who’s since been let go) confirmed Yogasundram’s reimbursement failures. “She exhibited a complete lack of moral compass, screwing over vendors both large and small,” the buyer told Jezebel. “At the time that I was let go, the vendor debt was six figures with over 20 vendors.” Yogasundram claims she’s since addressed these overdue payments (“I can say confidently that all our vendors have been fully recompensed,” she said), but these money issues also extend to her employees. Anonymous staffers said that they received no benefits, low wages, and suffer from a “disrespectful” work environment. Glassdoor reviews emphasize the “terrible” atmosphere and “lack of management skills”. Shop Jeen has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau and has racked up more than 50 complaints. The negative feedback mostly revolves around late or missing product deliveries, with customers claiming that they never received a package and can’t get in touch with the company. One reviewer on Glassdoor offered advice: “Take some business classes. Come up with more marketing distribution that doesn’t solely rely on Instagram.” Shop Jeen’s ambitions – and Instagram numbers – might be sky-high, but it remains to be seen whether Yogasundram and her small team can keep up. |