2025, the Year of Chinese E-commerce Giants Sweeping French Commerce

There is no doubt that reports on China have focused on Les Echos, which has published multiple articles in its events section, highlighting the impact of Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein on French commerce over the past year. The first article titled "2025, the Year of the Chinese E-commerce Wave Sweeping France" begins by stating that undoubtedly, 2025 will be the year of Shein for French commerce. If the strong performance of Temu (Pinduoduo's overseas platform) and AliExpress (Alibaba's international platform) are included, 2025 can even be considered the year of China. The French consumer market is being reshaped at an unprecedented speed. According to the latest data, within a few months, these Chinese platforms have already captured 6% of the clothing sales in France. Just Shein alone holds a 3% market share, with an average product price of only 9 euros, almost without direct competitors. Its website traffic has doubled in two years, while Temu, which appeared only in 2023, has already exceeded 20 million users, growing exponentially.

Although its turnover is still relatively limited, accounting for only 2% of the industry total, its continuous expansion had not drawn much attention before 2025. The report reviews the penalties that Shein has faced from French industry regulators for various reasons, but it was its entry into the landmark Paris department store BHV that truly sparked public debate, seen as a positive impact of "fast fashion" on the French fashion and retail system. In response to its daily release of 7,000 new products, encouraging excessive consumption, and its fiber-based business model, the French political, business, and regulatory sectors have reacted strongly. With the discovery of child pornography dolls and weapons sold on its platform, the government has increased pressure: fines, investigations, seizure of packages, warning the EU, and pushing for tax reforms targeting low-cost small packages. The EU has decided to cancel the duty-free policy for packages under 150 euros starting in 2026, and introduce a unified fee collection mechanism.

Another Chinese giant, JD.com, is also accelerating its layout

Under the pressure of regulation, Shein once closed its platform marketplace business, and its sales dropped significantly in the short term, but signs indicate that it will gradually restore related functions. At the same time, another Chinese giant, JD.com, is also accelerating its layout. Similar to Shein's collaboration with BHV, JD.com has also expanded its offline retail network in Europe by acquiring the European large appliance retailer Ceconomy, and plans to officially launch its e-commerce platform Joybuy in 2026. Since autumn, it has been running a trial, offering a diverse range of brands at all price levels, both Chinese and international, relying on efficient logistics, such as same-day delivery service in Paris, with a model closer to Amazon. The article concludes that Chinese e-commerce giants, through their strong online expansion combined with offline physical layouts, are forming a "double squeeze" on French and European retailers, potentially bringing explosive industry changes.

Shein announces the launch of a super-large logistics center in Poland

The newspaper's other report focuses on Shein's latest developments in accelerating the construction of its logistics system in Europe despite increasing regulatory pressure. Shein has just announced the launch of a super-large logistics center in Poland, serving as a major logistics hub in Europe. The center is massive, covering 740,000 square meters when fully operational, operating with high automation, and is expected to add 2,000 jobs upon full operation in the coming days, bringing the local employee count to approximately 5,000 people. The report states that the platform will not accept packages from China, mainly targeting third-party sellers in Europe, providing storage and delivery services through the platform, ensuring "faster and more reliable delivery." The report indicates that this layout could, in principle, avoid the minimum 3-euro tax on overseas small packages starting next year.

Choosing Poland has clear strategic considerations: neighboring Germany and the Czech Republic, with a developed transportation network connecting the Baltic-Adriatic axis, and Poland itself being the largest country in Europe for road freight. E-commerce giants like Amazon have already established important warehouse distribution centers there.

However, while Shein is rapidly growing in Poland, it also faces controversy. The e-commerce industry accuses it of not fully complying with EU regulations, constituting unfair competition, estimated to cost the Polish economy about 2 billion euros annually.

Not limited to clothing, growth is also evident in home furnishings

Another related report cites a study by the French home furnishings research institute Ipea, showing that the influence of Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein on household consumption in France is expanding, no longer limited to clothing, but also growing in areas such as home decoration, tableware, storage, and furniture. The convenient delivery method is an important factor driving the growth of home-related consumption. The study expects this growth to continue to rise and remain attractive among the elderly population as well.

"China: Lighting the Third Stage of the Rocket"

A commentary titled "China is Lighting the Third Stage of the Rocket" writes: In the late 20th century, China was seen in the West merely as a low-cost manufacturing base. Entering the 21st century, its industry rapidly upgraded, first entering the global market with companies like Haier and Lenovo due to price advantages, then achieving innovation breakthroughs in high-tech fields such as telecommunications and electric vehicles, relying on a vast domestic market and R&D investment, becoming the world's largest manufacturer.

Now, China is lighting the "third stage of the rocket": services and digital economy. The rise of platforms such as TikTok, Shein, and Temu shows that China has shifted from "the world's factory" to a global service and technology competitor.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7588351670712435210/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.