On Friday o ultra-fast fashion giant Shein finalized the takeover of Everlane, the American clothing retailer that became famed for promising “radical transparency” in how its clothes are produced. None of the companies disclosed the transaction price, but last weekend Puck announced that the transaction was concluded at 100 million dollars.
Founded in 2010, the Everlane brand has become synonymous with a certain trend of millennial consumerism that was supposed to be the complete opposite of Shein. He sold mostly basics and told a generation of restless and sophisticated shoppers that they could feel morally good about buying another pair of plain flats or high-waisted black skinny jeans. Shein, on the other hand, gained fame by flooding the Internet with surprisingly economical, fashionable clothing produced on a huge scale. It has been criticized for years for alleged penniless labor practices.
Given Shein and Everlane’s differing stances, many online felt the takeover was somewhere between darkly ironic and downright dystopian. Fashion writer Derek Guy, better known online as “the menswear guy,” expressed this sentiment in a post on X: “Under Shein” – on he wroteEverlane’s “radical transparency means you can read about the little kid who knitted your boring gray crewneck sweater.”
Really, though, the deal makes sense. In the long run, this could look like a preview of where China’s consumer companies are headed.
Chinese e-commerce giants have conquered the global market largely by selling economical products on a staggering scale. Companies like Shein and Temu thrived in part because of the “de minimis” loophole, a U.S. trade rule that allowed shipments worth less than $800 to enter the country duty-free and with relatively few customs inspections. This system has become the basis for a up-to-date era of cross-border e-commerce, enabling Chinese companies to ship economical goods directly to American consumers faster and more efficiently than would be possible with many conventional retailers.
But after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping up-to-date tariffs on Chinese imports and ended the de minimis exemption, the economics underlying this model began to crumble. Chinese companies quickly realized that they could no longer rely solely on flooding Western markets with products at bargain prices. If they wanted to continue to expand internationally, they needed something more eternal: a good, old-fashioned brand.
Shein’s purchase of Everlane, as culturally anathema as it may seem, is part of a broader trend already unfolding in Chinese trade and manufacturing. Increasingly, Chinese companies are trying to move beyond anonymous, economical production towards having recognizable, global brands associated with quality, lifestyle and status.
One of the clearest examples comes from Temu’s parent company, Pinduoduo. In March, the company announced a major up-to-date initiative called Up-to-date PinMu, a multi-billion-dollar venture aimed at helping Chinese manufacturers build premium international brands. The project is part of a broader strategic vision outlined by Pinduoduo co-CEO Jiazhen Zhao, which highlights the company’s ambitions to raise production standards and create pathways for Chinese factories to advance in the value chain.
Meanwhile, Luckin Coffee, a Chinese coffee chain that has become one of Starbucks’ biggest rivals, recently acquired Blue Bottle, the iconic specialty coffee brand that helped define America’s third wave coffee culture. Anta Sports, the Chinese sportswear giant that started primarily as a domestic shoemaker, has spent years buying premium global sportswear brands, including a controlling stake in Arc’teryx and Salomon.
This trend also reflects broader political pressures in China. The government has become increasingly critical of the brutal price wars and hypercompetition that dominate industries such as e-commerce and electric cars, a phenomenon often referred to as “involution.” Beijing now wants companies to focus more on sustainable growth, higher-end manufacturing and global competitiveness rather than a never-ending race to the bottom.