The online retailer Shein, founded in China, has increased its sales in the UK by more than a quarter over the past year, surpassing its British competitor Asos. Sales of the UK division rose by 26% to £2.58 billion, according to reports filed with Companies House.
Pre-tax profit rose by 18% to £45.2 million, even though the number of group employees in the UK, primarily in sales and marketing, increased to 113 from 91 the previous year. The company paid £11.2 million in current tax—understood to be mainly corporation tax—compared to £9.6 million the previous year.
Shein reported that sales were boosted by marketing partnerships with music festivals Wireless and Creamfields, a pop-up store on Oxford Street in London, as well as Christmas events in Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, and London.
Asos reported sales of £2.47 billion for the year ending August 31, 2025, although this figure includes revenue from outside the UK, unlike the comparable statistics for Shein UK. The global parent group Shein went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last month with a valuation of just over $26 billion (£19.6 billion).
Shein's strong trading performance is likely to increase pressure on the government to expedite changes to the 'de minimis' rule, which underpins the growth of fast-growing online retailers Shein and Temu. Concerns about Chinese retailers and manufacturers dumping goods into Britain have intensified after the US scrapped its own de minimis exemption for Chinese-made goods last year, which curbed Shein's expansion there.
The retailer's model is based on shipping orders of cheap clothing from Chinese factories directly to homes, ensuring each parcel is cheap enough to avoid import duties. Under the American exemption, which was scrapped last year, parcels valued at less than $800 (£600) sent to individuals were not subject to import tax.
This material is prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation.