On Friday, the fast fashion guru Shein it is finished its acquisition of Everlane, an American clothing retailer that made a name for itself by promising “strict transparency” in how its clothes were made. Neither company disclosed pricing for the plan, but Puck reported last weekend that it went live 100 million dollars.
Founded in 2010, Everlane became synonymous with a certain type of millennial consumerism that was supposed to be the exact opposite of Shein. It mainly sold high-quality basics, and it told a generation of anxious and high-minded shoppers that they could feel good about buying another pair of ballet flats or skinny-waisted black jeans. Shein, on the contrary, he had a bad reputation by flooding the web with amazingly affordable, mass-produced clothing. It has been criticized over the years for claims poor work practices.
Given how Shein and Everlane positioned themselves differently, many people online felt that the acquisition fell somewhere between dark satire and downright dystopian. Fashion writer Derek Guy, better known online as “the menswear guy,” described the vibe in an X post: “Under Shein,” he wrote“Everlane’s ‘sharp transparency’ means reading about a toddler making your boring gray sweater.”
In reality, however, the plan makes perfect sense. In the long run, it could end up being seen as a preview of where China’s consumer companies are headed.
China’s ecommerce giants conquered the global market by leaps and bounds by selling cheap items at eye-watering rates. Companies like Shein and Temu thrived in part because of the “de minimis” loophole, a US trade law that allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the country duty-free and with minimal customs scrutiny. The system became the backbone of a new era of cross-border e-commerce, enabling Chinese companies to ship cheap goods directly to American consumers faster and more efficiently than most traditional retailers could manage.
But after US president Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods and ended the de minimis exemptionthe economy that governs the model began to falter. Chinese companies quickly realized that they could not rely solely on flooding Western markets with bargain-priced products. If they wanted to continue growing internationally, they needed something more permanent: a good old-fashioned brand.
Shein’s purchase of Everlane, however culturally condemned it may seem, is part of a broader trend that has already emerged in Chinese business and manufacturing. Increasingly, Chinese companies are trying to move beyond low-cost anonymous production and toward ownership internationally recognized brands associated with quality, lifestyle, and status.
One of the most obvious examples comes from Temu’s parent company, Pinduoduo. In March, the company he announced a new flagship program called New PinMu, a multi-billion dollar effort designed to help Chinese manufacturers build global brands. The project is part of a larger strategic vision outlined by Pinduoduo co-CEO Jiazhen Zhao, who has been emphasizing the company’s ambition to raise manufacturing standards and create ways for Chinese industries to scale up the value chain.
Meanwhile, Luckin Coffee, a Chinese coffee chain that has become one of Starbucks’ biggest rivals, recently acquired Blue Bottle, the traditional coffee brand that helped define America’s third wave coffee culture. Anta Sports, a Chinese sportswear giant that started largely as a domestic shoe company, has spent years buying up top international apparel brands, including controlling stakes in Arc’teryx and Salomon.
The trend also reflects the growing political pressure within China. The government has increasingly criticized the vicious price war and intense competition that dominates industries such as ecommerce and electric carssomething that is often called “change.” Beijing now wants companies to focus more on sustainable growth, high-tech industries, and global competitiveness instead of an endless race to the bottom.
