Western brands have entered Shein's marketplace – but do they know?
Shein, the fast-fashion giant, is now home to some of the biggest names in luxury and sportswear—adidas, PUMA Group, Ray Ban (Luxottica), Nike, SWAROVSKI, MCM WORLDWIDE, Michael Kors, and Coach, just to name a few of them we found. But here’s the catch: these brands never agreed to be there. Our investigation at Marketplace Universe shows that Western brands are being sold on Shein’s European platforms at shockingly low prices, often without the brands' knowledge or consent.
Here’s what we found:
1️⃣ Heavily discounted Western brands:
On SHEIN Germany, you can get Adidas Samba sneakers for €62.29, while they retail for €120 on Adidas’s own site. In the UK, we found 27 Michael Kors bags with discounts of up to 69%. On Shein France, Coach has hundreds of products listed.
2️⃣ Poor presentation and vague descriptions:
These listings often look like bargain-bin outlets. Products are poorly presented with blurry images, incomplete descriptions, and even incorrect names. For example, the Adidas Samba was mislabeled as “Adidas Classic Boots.” This raises red flags about sourcing and authenticity.
3️⃣ Sourcing from gray market, overstock, or B-goods?
We suspect these products are being funneled into Shein via several routes:
● Overstock or excess inventory
● Gray market goods sold in bulk
● B-goods or outlet-grade products that don’t meet brand standards
Third-party sellers may be involved, but the origin of these products remains unclear. One thing is certain: the brands themselves are unlikely to be directly involved.
You can find our full extensive research on our website: https://lnkd.in/eYCjcpXz
💬 What does this mean for brands?
Shein’s continued growth presents brands with a difficult challenge. As consumers flock to low prices, brands risk losing control over how their products are sold and perceived. This raises pressing questions for the future of retail and brand protection in a marketplace dominated by fast-fashion platforms.
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Xavier Hainaux, Karla B., Nadia Colville, Stijn Verlinden, Anne Weilguny, Moulika Krishnaveni, Daniel Jäck, Marcel Ostwald
#Shein #ecommerce #luxurybrands #fastfashion #overstock #graymarket #marketplaces