Ahead of its Hong Kong IPO, has fast fashion retailer SHEIN lost its shine in the UK?

SHEIN reported a $99m loss for the last quarter, according to figures the Chinese fashion giant released ahead of a Hong Kong share sale. The performance is being attributed to higher-than-usual shipping and marketing costs following the U.S. government’s removal of an import duty exemption.

With reports that the UK is exploring a similar measure for small parcels, is SHEIN robust enough to withstand price rises, import complexities, and other complications? Data from YouGov BrandIndex allows us to look at how the company compares to UK fashion brands overall and its competitors in the “fast” fashion space.

Impression scores, which measure whether consumers have an overall positive or negative opinion of a brand, are at -19.4. Fast fashion brands score 7.3, while clothing brands in general score 11.8. Quality scores for SHEIN sit at 31.5, which is considerably lower than both fast fashion brands (-4.5) and fashion brands overall (12.5), but this is perhaps unsurprising given the eCommerce retailer’s emphasis on the budget end of the market.

However, when we look at Value scores, the China-founded retailer also underperforms (SHEIN: -3.5; Fast fashion: 8.1; Clothing & apparel:3.7). Reputation scores, which measure whether consumers would be proud or embarrassed to work for a brand, sit at -26.0 for SHEIN compared to 7.3 for the brand’s fast fashion competitors and 11.8 for the overall industry.

The only area where SHEIN is competitive relative to other brands is Consideration. Scores are 10.7, which narrowly beats the wider fashion industry (9.4), but falls short of its fast fashion rivals (14.4).

The retailer’s solid Consideration relative to other brands, and its worse-than-average performance across other metrics,  suggest that SHEIN is still in the mix for consumers.  The true test for the brand may come if, whether by regulatory changes or economic fluctuations, its lower-than-average prices are compromised.

This article originally appeared in City A.M.

Image: Getty