What’s going on here? After New York turned its nose up, Shein might be taking its fast-fashion garms to the streets – or at least the stock market – of London. What does this mean? Plenty of clothes stores are dressing their windows with sustainable accolades to win over increasingly eco-conscious fashionistas. Not Shein: aware that plenty of shoppers will always prioritize price, the fast-fashion label churns out clothes that go for an average of $10.70. The company was confident that its rampant sales would justify an $80 to $90 billion debut on the US market. But when Shein was valued closer to $50 billion late last year, the firm ditched its affinity for low prices and checked out options in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore instead. They may be safer routes anyway: US regulations are making it tougher for companies with Chinese ties, like Shein, to keep both sides happy. Why should I care? The bigger picture: Here for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Shein’s rival Temu is trying to win over US shoppers, too. Backed by ecommerce giant Pinduoduo, the Chinese online marketplace spent $1.7 billion on marketing last year, and plans to raise that to $3 billion this year to take on the likes of Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, and Wayfair. Temu is a dab hand at catching shoppers’ eyes, but with only 14% of buyers still shopping on the site four months after their first purchase, the bargain retailer needs to work on winning their long-term loyalty. Zooming in: China’s shopping local. Chinese shoppers are backing homegrown companies, and that’s changing the fate of companies that have won over the sprawling and (usually) lucrative market. China’s own BYD, for example, just toppled Tesla to become the world’s top-selling electric carmaker. Local brand Luckin Coffee made more sales in China than Starbucks last year, too, showing that China's shoppers prefer decent value over Instagrammable logos – especially now that the economy’s in a pinch. | 
