[해외 리포트] ‘Shein’ counterfeit outlet appears!

Shein Glü Stock store located in the La Torre outlet shopping center in Zaragoza, Spain.

Outlet stores from Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant Shein, which is eyeing a London stock market listing between the end of this year and early next year, have started popping up in several shopping districts in Spain and the Netherlands, most recently in Arnhem, Netherlands. , Breda, and The Hague. However, a Shein spokesperson emphasized that although these stores appear to be real stores with the same name and logo, they are not the company’s officially licensed stores.

Earlier this year, a similar example was discovered in Zaragoza, Spain, and opened under the name ‘Glü Stock Shein’. A press release from the ‘La Torre’ outlet shopping center where the store is located described Shein as having opened a new concept store, but after extensive coverage in the local media, it was revealed that it was an unlicensed store.

This store is just one of several recently opened unlicensed Shein stores. It is unclear who runs these stores in Spain and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, it was discovered that stores simply had the name ‘Shein Outlet’ posted in the form of posters in their store windows. For example, in the case of Breda, the store was located in the old building of the bankrupt sportswear store ‘Sprinter’. The exact size of these fake outlet stores is unclear. A Shein spokesperson would not provide a figure for how widespread these unlicensed stores are in the market.

“Shein products can only be purchased through the official website and app,” a spokesperson said. “Any stores in the Netherlands claiming to be Sheein stores are not licensed by our headquarters and are not affiliated with Sheein in any way. “We cannot guarantee the authenticity or quality of the products they offer.”

Shein, which has been selling ultra-low-price products only online, has recently targeted the physical retail market in the form of pop-ups in Paris and Marseille, and is currently expanding this to a global scale. At first, these pop-ups were carried out only in the form of a showroom and the products were not sold on-site, which caused confusion for customers who visited the store. At that time, visitors could view products, order items of interest, and have them delivered to their homes.

In the end, Shein applied this experience concept in a temporary pop-up space, but changed its policy to allow products to be purchased directly in the store. “We have decided to offer temporary brick-and-mortar retail experiences, such as pop-ups, from time to time and we always keep our customers informed about these in advance through our social media channels,” the spokesperson reaffirmed.

He also explained that action is being taken against unlicensed offline stores, which are increasing in number. Despite concerns about quality and the environment, Shein’s popularity shows no signs of slowing down, as evidenced by the unlicensed stores popping up across Europe, with sales surging 38% in 2023 in the UK ahead of its listing.

Meanwhile, ahead of the listing on the London Stock Exchange, Shein held the ‘Shein France’ fashion show at ‘Place Vendôme’ in Paris, where luxury jewelry stores are lined up, during Paris Fashion Week in September to improve its brand image, and was popularized by people from all over the world. The works of 18 selected new designers were showcased. The company also announced that it aims to integrate 250 European designers into the ‘Shein