As Reuters reports, Shein unveiled its online marketplace services at an event in Madrid last month, along with Colgate-Palmolive, Hasbro, Suntory Beverage & Food and Spanish cosmetics brand Bella Aurora.
“Everybody associates Shein with fashion, but we are dedicated to all verticals,” said Christina Fontana, director of brand operations for the EMEA region, at the conference.
According to Fontana, the platform simply responds to consumer demand for branded products. Reuters reports that Fontana previously worked for Alibaba Group and is one of several marketplace experts Shein has acquired from the Chinese giant.
On the scale of the European Union
Shein has an average of 108 million monthly active users in the EU. It is because of its high number of users that the European Union has ranked it as a major internet platform. As such, it falls under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and will be subject to stricter controls.
It must comply with the strict rules to protect users and increase the security of its services by the end of August. Companies that break the rules can be fined up to 6% of their annual turnover, including a ban from operating in the event of serious and repeated violations. Shein is the 23rd platform to be covered by the rules. Others include companies such as X, TikTok, Meta and Google.