USA: Shein makes historic breakthrough in physical retailing

While the Republican Attorney Generals in 16 states asked the SEC to investigate whether Shein’s supply chain uses forced labour, the pure-player (US$23 billion turnover in 2022 via 150 million customers, valuation of US$20 billion in June 2023) is going to open physical “shop in shops” in the U.S.A. On August 24^th Shein announced a strategic partnership with the Sparc Group (owner of Forever 21, Aéropostale, Nautica and Reebok). In return, Sparc will take a minority stake in Shein. Sparc is a