Do we like Shein?
Ultra-fast fashion and online marketplace. Founded in China, now headquartered in Singapore, with a Hong Kong stock listing.
Our score: 2 out of 10. No, we wouldn't back them. The fines keep coming across several countries, and workers' hours and the products sold on the site remain real concerns.
Shein started as a Nanjing start-up and grew into one of the world's biggest online fashion sellers. It is now run from Singapore. Founder Xu Yangtian keeps a famously low profile, though he turned up in person for the Hong Kong listing in September 2026.
After failed attempts in New York and London, Shein listed in Hong Kong on 1 September 2026. The valuation was about a quarter of its 2022 peak. The founders keep control through a weighted-voting structure, so outside shareholders have limited say.
Regulators keep catching up with it. France's DGCCRF fined it €40m in 2025 and over €22m in June 2026. Italy's competition authority fined it €1m for vague environmental claims. Reuters reported a €150m French data-protection fine over cookies. In October 2026 it agreed to pay $100m to settle a US FTC probe, according to a source who spoke to Reuters.
In November 2025 France's consumer watchdog found child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on Shein's marketplace. Shein banned sex dolls globally. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation. In March 2026 an appeals court refused the government's bid to suspend the site, saying Shein had reacted promptly.
On workers, a BBC investigation found factory staff in the 'Shein village' in Guangzhou working around 75 hours a week, against Chinese labour law. Shein says it works with auditors on compliance and had already promised $15m to improve supplier factories in 2022. Given the fines, the product scandals and the labour concerns, we score it 2.