Tom Wood
Online fashion retailer Shein is set to open up 30 stores in the UK this year, which will no doubt delight anyone who has had to make an educated guess online when buying anything from the outlet.
Shein has risen to prominence online, much beloved by people on Instagram and TikTok, but now people will be able to move past the screen and see the products themselves in the real world.
Crucially, they’ll be able to try them on, which will be a first.
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The company will be entering a world that is already congested by the likes of Primark, New Look, Boohoo, and PrettyLittleThing, although it isn’t just clothes that they’ll be hawking.
They also sell homewares, accessories, shoes and bags.
But you already knew that, if you've come this far.
As well as the UK, they’re opening stores across a few countries, including locations in Europe and the Middle East.
We’re not 100 percent certain where the locations in the UK will be based, but given there’ll be 30 of them, it’s likely that there will be one not too far away from you.
Already they have run pop-up shops in Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol with great success, so it’s almost nailed on that they’ll be heading back there.
As for the rest, it’s unlikely that they’ll stick them away in the darkest corners of Britain, so if you live near a decent sized town, you’ll be in with a shout.
What’s more, the company is set to open a new headquarters, although for whatever reason – and there are probably a few good economic ones – it won’t be in Britain.
That central hub will be in Dublin, across the Irish Sea.
Explaining some of those reasons, Shein’s global head of government relations Leonard Lin said: “Ireland’s pro-business environment and great access to talent make it an excellent hub for companies, including Shein, to manage and grow our business in the region.
“Our Dublin office opening marks an important milestone in Shein’s growth in EMEA (Europe/UK, Middle East, Africa) – which is one of our most important markets.
“We look forward to contributing to the growth of the local economies and to supporting local communities.”
As for where those shops will eventually be, we’ll just have to wait and see what Shein come up with.
Again, it’s not unlikely that you’ll have one pretty near you.
If not, you’re probably already used to buying the stuff online anyway.