Fast-fashion giant Shein has recorded sales of over $1.2 billion in Australia, marking its biggest-ever haul from Down Under since launching in the country three years ago.
The staggering number comes courtesy of newly filed accounts from the retailer, which saw Australian Shein sales jump to $1.2 billion from the $979 million previously recorded last year.
In news that has landfills quivering, it means Shein is now, somehow, among the country’s biggest retailers, right up there with your Mum’s favourite go-tos like Big W and Myer.
The reveal of Australian Shein sales means the retailer — known for its dupes of everything from clothing to eyewear and jewellery — recorded profits of $15.2 million (!).
By comparison, Big W was experiencing declining sales as of 2024 (per RagTrader) , despite the fact that you go in there for one thing and somehow walk out with a trolley full of kitchen appliances (and candles, and blankets, and socks).
News of Shein reaching the billion-dollar mark comes amid Australia’s cost-of-living crisis, which has seen customers resort to cheaply produced knock-off brands — including Shein and its equally shoddy spiritual sister Temu — to alleviate stresses on the hip pocket.
If only Shein had put its dupe energy into perishable, less flammable products like Woolworths has, then I wouldn’t have to take out a mortgage for a bottle of olive oil.
Shein’s Australian sales are soaring despite a tumultuous period for the retailer, which, along with Temu, was last week forced to issue a warning to US customers that its prices would increase as a result of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on China.
Elsewhere, Shein was the subject of a proposed investigation floated by Aussie billionaire Gerry Harvey, who demanded an inquiry into the company’s alleged tax evasion in January despite it being wholly unnecessary for him to shop there.
You’re a billionaire, shouldn’t you be shopping at Louis Vuitton or, at this rate, Woolworths? (I’ll stop the slander when I can afford to oil my goddamn pan!).
All of that without even mentioning the curious items that have appeared in Shein packages over the years, from a test tube of human blood (?) to an assortment of live worms (double ?).
And yet, Shein still recorded its biggest-ever sales period in Australia, so it seems like not even packages containing literal human turds (which would cost $80 at Woolies) could deter the burgeoning retailer.
Maybe, someday, there’ll be a surprise bottle of olive oil, at which point I could afford next month’s rent.
Lead image: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images and Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
