Shein which has moved its corporate HQ to Singapore from China has generated £1.1bn in direct sales to consumers here in the UK since it entered the market. For the 16 month period to December 2022 it had declared a £12.2 million profit and generated a tax bill of £2.3m.
That is £1.1bn which could have been spent with British retailers, a share of which could very possibly have saved many from the severe impact of falling demand these past few years, including administration.
Shein has a less than squeaky clean reputation not just here in the UK and Europe, but in the US too as it has repeatedly (and some say cynically) breached the copyright of countless designers who have found copies of their products, shoddily produced but audaciously sold from the designers’ own images, and then sold at knockdown prices. Produced in workshops in China to a very low standard and where workers are paid little with none of the benefits their overseas counterparts enjoy, garments are sold to consumers who turn a blind eye to the human and environmental cost of their c.£2 an item spending splurges. When it comes to product quality, it is somewhat telling that most charity shops refuse donations of Shein products even when unworn and bearing their original tags. They don’t stand up to inspection and are unsaleable, which means that most of Shein’s output will inevitably end up in landfill.
Having come under fire for the sheer volume of goods its screwed down suppliers despatch, from China, direct to consumer customers in small parcels, with most avoiding import duties, the only business or entity seemingly benefiting to any significant degree from Shein’s existence is Shein itself which is targeting revenues of US$58.5bn by 2025.
Shein is now in the process of cleaning up its act as it is working towards a stock market flotation in the US. This has seen it partner with the owner of Forever 21 and also enter into discussions with Frasers Group to acquire the Missguided brand.
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