Shein Crosses Billion-Dollar Sales Mark in Australia

Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein has recorded sales of over $1.2 billion in Australia during just its third year of operations in the country.

According to newly filed accounts, sales for the retailer jumped from $979 million in 2023 to $1.23 billion in the 12 months to December 31. Profits jumped from $10.6 million to $15.2 million.

As a comparison, Big W stores took in revenue of $4.7 billion in the most recent financial year, while Myer made $3.26 billion.

Accent Group, which operates 900 stores including Hype, Platypus, Hoka and Stylerunner, took in $1.6 billion, while Rebel took $1.29 billion across 159 stores. Apparel Brands, consisting of Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti and Jacqui-E, delivered collective revenue of $790.7 million.

Shein’s fast success in Australia comes during a cost-of-living crisis that has seen the budget-conscious turn to ‘dupes’, cheaply produced knock-offs of popular brands and designs.

April 2024 pop-up store

Research from Roy Morgan, released last August, found that Aussie Shein customers were fast becoming loyal shoppers, with 42% of the retailer’s user base being “high frequency buyers”, meaning they purchase four or more items over 12 months.

Shein’s overall shopper base is swelling, too, with a 830,000-strong user-base in December 2023 climbing to more than 1.1 million by June 2024 – a 34% leap in half a year.

During 2024, Shein launched a number of physical pop-up stores in capital cities across Australia to further accelerate its local growth, and last month launched an affiliate program for Australian content creators and influencers.

Today, the fast fashion brand announced “its most expansive and immersive” Australian retail play to date, with the launch of Café Shein FW25, a pop-up “experience” at Parramatta Town Hall, which a press release promises will turn the tired old hall into “a multi-sensory lifestyle destination” for four-days in May, offering complimentary coffee, beauty glam stations, and a chance to actually try the clothes on – or “experience them in a physical setting.”

As Shein aims to dominate both online and in traditional brick-and-mortar, it doesn’t even represent the biggest Chinese disrupter in the Australian retail space.

Temu, an “everything” store similar to Amazon, is on track to surpass $2 billion in annual sales in Australia, according to Roy Morgan, who estimated it made $1.66 billion in the region during FY24.

Both are still dwarfed by Amazon, which boasted 2024 revenue of approximately $6.2 billion in Australia, adding 1.1 million new customers in the process.

Source: Mumbrella