Shein Opens Its Supply Network to Fashion Brands to Boost Growth

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

Other fashion brands can now tap on the fast-fashion retailer’s supply chain, which includes factories that can turn around new designs in 5-7 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.

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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 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 brands usually cannot access at the low costs that the Chinese giant enjoys.

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

In response to queries from Bloomberg News, a Shein spokesperson said that its new program is called Xcelerator, and is aimed at helping 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 they sell the services to industry peers, the people said.