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Shein, a Chinese fast-fashion retailer, surpassed British competitor Asos in UK revenue last year, increasing sales by 26% to £2.58 billion and boosting pre-tax profits by 18% to £45.2 million. Shein attributes its success partly to marketing partnerships with music festivals and pop-up shops across major UK cities. The article highlights growing concerns over the "de minimis" rule, which allows low-value goods from overseas to enter the UK without customs duty, potentially influencing government policy changes aimed at curbing the impact of fast-growing online retailers like Shein.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Shein, a Chinese-based online fashion retailer, surpassed British rival Asos in UK sales last year by increasing its revenue in the country by 26% to £2.58 billion. The company's global parent group, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange with an estimated value of over $26 billion, reported a pre-tax profit rise of 18% to £45.2 million despite a modest increase in UK staff from 91 to 113 people. Shein attributed its success partly to marketing collaborations with events like Wireless and Creamfields music festivals, as well as pop-up shops in major cities including London's Oxford Street.
This surge in sales has intensified calls for the UK government to expedite changes to the "de minimis" rule, which allows overseas sellers to ship goods valued at £135 or less directly to British shoppers without customs duties. Critics fear this rule facilitates unfair competition from Chinese retailers flooding the market with cheap products. Former UK chancellor Rachel Reeves had previously suggested abolishing the rule by 2028.
Written for “Shein Outselling Asos UK Revenue Growth” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 68196 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-09
Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by just over a quarter last year, overtaking its British rival Asos.
asserted
Shein → found → rival
The company, whose global parent group listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange valued at just over $26bn (£19.6bn) last month, increased sales at its UK division by 26% to £2.58bn, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
uncertain
group → list → House
Pre-tax profits rose 18% to £45.2m even as the number of people employed by the group in the UK, mostly in sales and marketing, rose to 113 from 91 a year before.
asserted
number → rise → 91
The company paid £11.2m in current tax – understood to be mainly corporation tax – up from £9.6m a year before.
asserted
company → pay → m
Shein said sales had been helped by a marketing partnership with the Wireless and Creamfields music festivals, a pop-up shop on London’s Oxford Street and Christmas gift events in Edinburgh, Manchester and Liverpool as well as London.
asserted
sales → say → Edinburgh
The strong trading figures are likely to increase pressure on the government to bring forward action to change the “de minimis” rule that has underpinned the rise of the fast-growing online specialists Shein and Temu.
asserted
that → increase → specialists
Fears about China’s retailers and manufacturers dumping goods in the UK have grown since the US last year revoked its own de minimis exception for Chinese-made goods, crimping Shein’s expansion there.
The retailer’s model is based on shipping orders of cheap clothes from Chinese factories to homes so that each order is low enough in value to avoid import duties.
asserted
order → dump → duties
Under the US exemption, which was scrapped last year, parcels with a value of less than $800 (£600) shipped to individuals had been spared from import tax.
asserted
parcels → scrap → tax
The EU is also phasing out its exemption on customs duties for low-value parcels.
asserted
EU → phase → parcels
It began in July by replacing the €150 de minimis relief with a flat €3 customs duty.
asserted
It → begin → duty
The former UK chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would get rid of the UK’s rule, which allows overseas sellers to send goods valued at £135 or less direct to British shoppers without paying any customs duty, by 2028.
asserted
sellers → say → 2028
However, major retail bosses have said the government should move sooner.
asserted
government → say → ?
Investors’ concerns about global government regulatory changes meant Shein’s value was far lower when it listed on the stock market than had been expected several years ago.
asserted
it → mean → market
It reached a valuation of $100bn in an April 2022 fundraising round, making it the third most valuable startup in the world, and then considered a £50bn ($66bn) float on the London Stock Exchange in 2024 before eventually launching in Hong Kong.
asserted
it → reach → Kong
Shein, founded by the entrepreneur Chris Xu, runs most of its operations from China but sells all its goods outside the country.
asserted
Shein → found → country
It moved its headquarters to Singapore at the start of 2022 and has recently begun manufacturing in other countries including Turkey and Brazil.
asserted
It → move → Turkey
After forced labour concerns were raised, Shein said it had tightened its supplier policies, enforced through regular audits, with any child or forced labour violations becoming grounds for immediate termination of contract.
asserted
violations → force → contract
Last week, Shein reported a 67% fall in group quarterly profits to £173m in its first results since the float, blaming higher oil prices and freight rates linked to the war in Iran.
asserted
Shein → report → Iran
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