Shein, Temu and TikTok: disrupting the runway, the future of fashion retailing (2023)
The global fashion industry stands at the precipice of transformation. This report delves into the fast fashion landscape, exploring key players, market dynamics, and emerging disruptors, with a particular focus on the impact of Chinese retailers. The rise of Chinese retail behemoths like Shein and Temu signals a paradigm shift.
Shein and Temu represent a new challenge. The slow, steady rise of Inditex and H&M to the pinnacle of fashion retailing took decades (similarly Primark, Asos, Zalando etc). Now Chinese companies coming from more or less nowhere (in the case of Temu, the company was only founded last year) or Shein (launched in 2008) are taking over and reshaping the industry at a rapid pace.
- Executive summary
- Leading fast fashion players and their revenue history
- Inditex, H&M, Uniqlo, Primark, Asos, Boohoo (Annual turnover in $bn, 2005-22)
- Zalando, About You (Annual turnover in €m, 2009 - 22)
- Apparel, online fashion market sizes, EU and US 2022
- The Chinese takeover - The future of fashion retailing
- From outsourcing production to China
- to Chinese sellers on Amazon marketplace
- to Chinese retailers going direct
- The reaction from the West
- Shein
- Shein - an introduction
- Shein annual turnover, 45% growth in 2022
- Shein - the TikTok phenomenon
- Operating model - vertical integration
- like a marketplace for suppliers
- Gaming the tax system
- Shein issues: Xinjiang, forced labour
- Regulators response
- Shein - posts US lobbying tab
- Designers sue for copyright infringement
- Shein holds largest U.S. fast fashion market share
- US Fast Fashion Sales 2020-2022 (Asos, Fashion Nova, Forever21, H&M, Shein,
- Zara % shares)
- Online sales as % of Total US Sales for Fast Fashion
- The victory of online only in fast fashion
- Shein and Forever 21
- A mutually beneficial relationship
- Shein marketplace - will this work?
- The Shein marketplace in the US, launched in May
- Shein to buy Missguided
- Shein UK reaches £1.1bn revenue
- Shein shifts shipping strategy
- to bring products closer to US shoppers
- Plans to ship Brazil-made products around Latin America from 2026
- Temu
- Temu: the new most popular shopping app
- Temu, owned by Pinduoduo
- Temu - Chinese sellers going direct
- The no name brands champion
- Unwanted attention from US Congress
- Temu - aiming for other global markets
- Temu’s lawsuit against Shein
- Temu, PDD growth of 66%, quarterly sales of US$7.2bn
- Temu is now outperforming Shein in the US
- TikTok
- TikTok - the video phenomenon
- TikTok: $1bn turnover in international markets
- TikTok investing for growth, huge losses
- TikTok - Project Aquaman
- TikTok, 100m US users, TikTok shop
- Will live streaming work in the West?
- Fulfilled By TikTok (FBT) launched in the UK
- First results of TikTok Shop in the US
- Trouble on the horizon for fast fashion?
- Trouble on the horizon for fast fashion?
- The problem - not just the Chinese apps
- The EU’s net zero commitments, the circular economy
- Ultra fast fashion has made everything worse
- The EU’s extended producer responsibility scheme
- A QR code to function like the CE label?
- Sizing & Returns remain the perennial problem
- Solutions from Google, Zalando
- Strategic recommendations
- Could western players copy the Shein model?
- Could western players copy Shein’s logistics?
- How could western players stop Shein/Temu?
- Outlook
- Sources
Research Assistance
Download our eBook: How to Succeed Using Market Research
Learn how to effectively navigate the market research process to help guide your organization on the journey to success.
Download eBook