‘A bit disappointed’: people queue for hours in front of a shop that turns out to be a showroom where you can’t buy anything (Antwerp)

The Chinese brand Shein, which reads “she-in”, is very popular among the Tiktok generation. The web store is very popular not only because of the cheap prices, but also because the brand quickly collects data on new trends and can produce and sell new clothes in just a few days.

“I know Shein mainly through online ads. It’s a fast fashion store, but more attractive than H&M or Zara,” says Hayat Kaiselar, 22, who came to check out the store.

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So it is one of the most visited fashion websites in the world. There are no physical stores, everything is done online. You can’t try on or buy clothes from the pop-up store either. It is more like a showroom where you can scan clothes and buy them online via QR code. Most of them did not know it. “I’ve been following the brand for four years and am now very curious to see the clothes. Unfortunately, I just heard that we can’t buy anything in the store ourselves and that we’re supposed to feel the fabrics and then order them later. This is a bit disappointing, especially because I was waiting Under the rain for two hours.

Some did not expect the huge turnout. “Because I’ve already ordered several times through their site, I got invited to open their pop-up shop in Meir. I didn’t expect there would be so many people. I came from Liege in particular, so I suddenly had a day in Antwerp,” says Mallory Gobriel (24 ).

Kaiselar life also did not expect crowds. “We actually thought we were the only ones to notice Shein opening a physical store for three days, but that’s clearly not the case.”

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