Shein opens its supply network to fashion brands to boost growth

Shein Group Ltd. has begun offering other fashion brands access to its apparel manufacturing network in China as a service, according to people familiar with the matter, as it seeks new revenue streams amid pressure on its retail business from U.S. tariffs.

Other fashion brands can now tap into the fast-fashion retailer’s supply chain—which includes factories that can turn around new designs in five to seven days—as long as they open a store on its online marketplace, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak publicly.

Shein began formally recruiting brands to join the initiative in the past two months, following nearly two years of preparation and testing, the people said. Around 20 brands, including French fashion label Pimkie and Filipino designer Jian Lasala’s brand, are currently using the service, which is being promoted through a new website launched in August, they said.

Besides manufacturing, the people said Shein also offers sample development, warehousing, sales, and order fulfillment to the brands—services that smaller companies typically cannot access at the low costs the Chinese giant enjoys.

By transforming vendor relationships into a product, Shein is seeking to establish a new growth pillar, as its self-branded sales of $2.46 shirts and $6.75 dresses face limited upside following the United States’ removal of tax exemptions for small parcels from China. Although still stronger than rival PDD Holdings Inc.’s Temu platform, Shein’s U.S. sales have followed an uneven trajectory, according to data from Bloomberg Second Measure.

In response to queries from Bloomberg News, a Shein spokesperson stated that its new program is called Xcelerator, which aims to help brands “overcome value-chain challenges by offering direct-to-consumer services, on-demand production, and global sales access to scale their creativity worldwide.”

Unlike Alibaba.com and 1688.com, which offer open access to Chinese manufacturers, the clothing retailer has made supplier access conditional on participation in its platform.

The initiative—primarily aimed at attracting more fashion brands to join its marketplace—is an effort to leverage its extensive apparel supply chain network in southern China amid growing competition and a volatile trade environment.

Shein’s China-based manufacturing network is harder to copy and may potentially contribute to sustainable growth in the longer term if it succeeds in selling these services to industry peers, the people said.

The privately held clothing retailer—originally founded in mainland China and now headquartered in Singapore—does not disclose its financial information. Bloomberg News earlier reported that the retailer’s net income rose to over $400 million and revenue was nearly $10 billion in the first quarter, as consumers rushed to purchase the retailer’s products ahead of U.S. tariffs.

While it’s unclear how Shein fared in the April–June quarter—a period that saw President Donald Trump end the de minimis tariff exemption—sales recovered in June, but the momentum has since faded, with numbers dipping again in recent weeks.

In addition to mounting external operational challenges, Shein has faced significant hurdles in its push for an initial public offering. Its original plan to list in the United States was shelved amid scrutiny over supply chain and labor practices. The company later explored a U.K. listing before settling on Hong Kong, where it has confidentially submitted a draft prospectus for review. It is weighing a move back to China to smooth its path to a share sale in Hong Kong, Bloomberg News reported last month.