Deep Dives

Western Brands Unknowingly Flood Shein: A New FrontieR in Unauthorized Sales by Ingrid Lommer Western luxury and sports brands are facing an unexpected dilemma as their products appear on Shein, the fast-fashion giant known for low prices and questionable sourcing. The likes of Adidas, Puma, Nike, Ray-Ban, and Calvin Klein are being sold on the Chinese platform—at deep discounts and with shoddy product listings—without the brands’ consent. With the platform expanding its reach across Europe, from Germany to the UK, the question of where these products come from and how they end up on Shein is becoming more pressing. A Surge of Branded Goods on Shein’s Marketplace In recent weeks, items from Adidas and Puma have been spotted on Shein’s European sites, selling at prices far below what shoppers would find on official brand stores or authorized retailers. The Adidas Samba sneaker, for instance, is available for as little as €62.29 on Shein Germany, while the same model retails for €120 on Adidas’s own site. And this is just the beginning. Puma, alarmed by these developments, has hinted at potential legal action, while Adidas has issued a public statement clarifying that it does not permit its products to be sold on Shein. Despite this, Shein’s marketplace continues to offer these brands, and it’s not just in Germany—Shein Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, and the UK are all showing similar trends. Digging Deeper: Our Investigation into Shein Germany and Switzerland At Marketplace Universe, we took a closer look at Shein’s German and Swiss platforms to understand the scale and variety of the branded products being sold. The results were revealing—and troubling. In Germany, the listings are scattered and inconsistent. High-end brands like Swarovski appear, but with poorly rendered product images and incomplete descriptions, making it hard to determine authenticity or product quality. The Adidas Samba, for example, is misnamed as “Adidas Classic Boots,” a title that does nothing to assure buyers of its authenticity. Similarly, Ray-Ban sunglasses are sold by a third-party vendor with minimal transparency about who is behind the listing. In Switzerland, things get even more interesting. The Adidas section here is larger, featuring items like the Argentina national soccer jersey, though some items bear labels indicating Chinese origins, raising red flags about potential gray market involvement. Nike products, sold under the guise of third-party stores like “Sports Pavilion,” seem to follow a similar pattern, with customer reviews confirming that these items are likely sourced outside official European channels. Yet, none of these products reflect the latest seasonal offerings. Instead, they tend to be basic, evergreen models that never go out of stock, reinforcing the notion that Shein may be scooping up overstock or excess inventory. Shein’s Expanding Reach Across Europe Our research into Shein’s platforms in France and the UK revealed a large presence of Western-branded accessories. On Shein UK, we found 27 Michael Kors bags, all heavily discounted, with price reductions of up to 69%. This suggests a significant influx of luxury goods at prices far below their typical retail cost. Meanwhile, on Shein France, the accessory brand Coach was widely available, with several hundred Coach products listed, offering a broad selection of bags, wallets, and other items. Despite the sizable assortment of luxury accessories, the overall trend on Shein remains the same: poor product descriptions, vague or minimal details, and inconsistent presentation. Whether browsing high-end bags in the UK or Coach accessories in France, the listings often lack the quality you’d expect from these renowned brands, and many products seem to be part of discounted or fragmented collections rather than current-season stock. Where Is Shein Getting These Products? The big question remains: how did these branded goods find their way onto Shein in the first place? The brands themselves are certainly not selling directly to the platform, but that leaves several possible avenues for how these products are sourced. One likely explanation is overstock. Fashion is a highly seasonal business, and out-of-season products often end up being sold off to secondary markets in bulk. The items available on Shein tend to be classic, “never out of stock” pieces—think of the iconic Adidas Samba, not a limited-edition or seasonal design. These overproduced items are often sold at a steep discount to international buyers. Another possible source is the gray market. When products are sold in large quantities, especially through wholesalers, they sometimes “disappear” into unofficial distribution channels. In some cases, retailers or distributors sell excess inventory to foreign markets, where the products may eventually end up on Shein through resellers. There’s also the possibility of B-goods or outlet-grade products—those that don’t meet the brand’s standard for full-price sale but are still authentic. These are sometimes made in bulk specifically for outlets or discount retailers, offering an explanation for the lower prices and varying quality found on Shein. Lastly, Shein’s marketplace model, which allows third-party sellers to offer branded goods, may be the key. It’s possible that authorized distributors of Adidas, Puma, and other brands are reselling stock through Shein, or that Shein is sourcing from resellers in markets like Asia or Eastern Europe. What can Brands do? The question of how Shein is sourcing these products is likely to have many answers, each one reflecting the complexities of today’s global supply chain. Our research into Shein Germany and Switzerland suggests that Shein’s stock is a mix of overstock, gray market goods, and items likely bought from third-party distributors. The products on Shein are rarely current-season, and they’re often heavily discounted and fragmented, like something you’d find in an outlet store rather than a full retail collection. What’s particularly striking is how inconsistent the listings are across countries. Shein Switzerland, France and Spain, for example, features a much wider range of fashion, accessories and sportswear than Shein Germany, suggesting that some countries may be easier entry points for unauthorized goods. Meanwhile, Shein Germany is dominated by jewelry and beauty products, with less of a focus on fashion and sportswear. For brands, the first step in solving this problem