In Depth: The $15 Billion Chinese Fast Fashion App You’ve Never Heard Of (Part 2) The rapid rise of the $15 billion Chinese fast-fashion firm challenging industry titans like Zara and H&M has prompted questions about who controls the company and the sustainability of its business model. Shein, a Chinese retail website and app focused almost entirely on the export market, has proved a smash hit among young women and teenage girls in Western countries thanks to its huge selection of cheap, trendy clothing. But observers say its strategy, which uses China’s world-leading garment manufacturing networks to outmuscle its rivals on speed and price, reprises global fast-fashion schemes linked to a litany of environmental and labor abuses.