Chinese fast-fashion pureplay Shein exploded onto the fashion market in disruptive style, quickly becoming a well-known name among its core demographic of social media-savvy 16-to-30-year-olds. The etailer, which sells womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, beauty products and homeware, was started in 2008 in Nanjing, China, by Chris Xu.As well as its presence in the UK, Shein has dedicated online sites for the US, Italy, France, Spain, the Middle East, Australia and Russia, and ships to over 200 countries. Retail Week provides news, analysis, features and opinion about Shein and the fashion sector.
The founder of fast-fashion giant Shein has praised the brand’s Chinese roots in a rare public appearance this week.
China has delivered great benefits in supply and demand, but the direct access it is building to the UK retail market and to data may be a threat, observes Maureen Hinton
The European Union is set to open a formal investigation into fast-fashion giant Shein over multiple suspected breaches of the bloc’s laws, including the alleged sale of childlike sex dolls and weapons.
Data from platform SpendMapper, shared exclusively with Retail Week, suggests that the secondhand trading platform had 17 million customers in 2025, with Next and Primark the only fashion brands with more
The on-demand fashion group behind Missguided has reported a 200% increase in sales for 2025, Retail Week can reveal.
Advertisement
