Just over a year ago, Chinese ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein began renting 15 hectares of warehouse space—equivalent to 21 football fields—near Ho Chi Minh City as part of a major experiment to turn Vietnam into an important export hub.
However, according to sources from Kyodo News, the trial did not yield the expected results. Shein is said to have decided to scale down its operations in Vietnam and return to focusing on its supply chain in China, which remains the most efficient manufacturing hub for its business model.
This decision reflects the reality that, despite Vietnam's cost advantages in labor and its geographic proximity to major markets, establishing a complete supply ecosystem for an ultra-fast fashion model faces many challenges, from logistics infrastructure to supporting production capabilities.
Shein's retreat from Vietnam also underscores the company's heavy reliance on the dense network of factories and supply chains in China, which can meet the demands for extremely short production and delivery times — a core element of the ultra-fast fashion model.
Shein, currently one of the world's largest online fashion retailers, has not made an official comment on this information. Meanwhile, Vietnam remains a promising manufacturing destination, but to become a high-tech fashion export center, the country needs more time and investment in infrastructure and supply chains.
