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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Shein’s Years of Explosive Growth Are Over. What’s Next?

The fast-fashion retailer has seen sales decline in six of the last seven months, as the novelty of its endless selection of trendy, ultra-cheap clothes wears off.
Person holding Shein app on their phone.
For 20 consecutive months between 2020 and 2021, Shein grew in the three-digit range year-over-year. (Shutterstock)

Between 2019 and 2021, Shein quadrupled sales, and at one point last spring, commanded

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Further Reading

Can Shein Change?

The Chinese fast fashion giant just hired a head of sustainability, and is taking other steps to remove some of the mystery in how it operates. But some of the company’s critics say the fast fashion business model can’t be reformed.

How to Compete With Shein

The Chinese fast fashion giant built an empire on unmatched speed-to-market and unbelievably low prices. To compete, others must play a different game.

About the author
Cathaleen Chen
Cathaleen Chen

Cathaleen Chen is Retail Editor at The Business of Fashion. She is based in New York and drives BoF’s coverage of the retail and direct-to-consumer sectors.

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