Most of the world might have been pretty distracted by what happened at the FIFA World Cup, but retail politics has also been at the forefront of EU headlines this summer as legislators took a firm aim at Asian imports. This dispatch from overseas highlights early warnings about changes in the retail industry, prompted by consumers, governments and watchdog organizations.
The rebellion is being led, appropriately enough this month, by the French, who are clamping down on cheap imports and have been vocal in their objections to Shein, causing it to shutter its Paris store. Meanwhile, luxury is moving beyond China to Malaysia and Thailand, Swiss running shoemaker On is diversifying from Asia as a key production hub, and Chinese ice cream operator Mixue is the sleeper F&B Asian giant testing the appetite in the U.S.
Why is the EU changing its position on Chinese-made products? And the answer is: New legislation and guardrails are being put in place to address the environmental impact of the influx of packages, throwaway fast-fashion products, and dependence on Asia for production.
Europe Clamps Down on Asian Imports
In Europe, policymakers have launched arguably the most significant assault yet on the global ultra-fast-fashion model. On July 1, the European Union introduced a €3 fee (just under $3.50) on low-value ecommerce imports from outside the bloc, ending a customs exemption that had helped platforms including Shein, Temu, and AliExpress flood Europe with billions of low-cost parcels. The change is expected to increase the cost of many cross-border purchases while forcing Chinese marketplaces to rethink their fulfilment strategies.
The numbers illustrate why regulators acted. Low-value imports into the E.U. surged from around 1.4 billion parcels in 2022 to almost 5.9 billion last year, prompting widespread complaints from many European retailers that overseas competitors were benefiting from regulatory advantages unavailable to domestic businesses.
France went further still. Lawmakers approved legislation aimed directly at ultra-fast-fashion operators, leveraging fines on companies producing vast volumes of low-cost apparel while banning advertising and influencer marketing for businesses falling within that category. Although that legislation still requires final approval, it represents the most aggressive attempt yet to regulate the economics of ultra-fast fashion in addition to scrutiny of its environmental impact.
Shein’s Paris Match Ends
Controversial from the get-go, the collapse of Shein’s partnership with Paris department store BHV Marais has come as little surprise despite the pair’s provocative defense of the deal. Unveiled in late 2025 as Shein’s first permanent physical store in Europe, the Paris collaboration was intended to demonstrate that the online giant could successfully transition into brick-and-mortar. Instead, it became a lightning rod for criticism from politicians, rival retailers and premium brands, many of which objected to sharing space with the ultra-fast-fashion retailer.
In June, BHV’s new owner announced the partnership would end after just seven months, with incoming Chief Executive Karl-Stéphane Cottendin describing the decision to bring Shein into the store as a “strategic error.” Shein maintained the deal had always been conceived as a limited-term pilot and said it had driven significant footfall, but many other retailers vacated their own shops upon its arrival and Shein’s further expansion into France was deferred and then cancelled. My eyes on the ground told me that after the opening, BHV was often largely empty and that the hoped for traffic driven by Shein failed to materialize. In World Cup parlance, a bad own goal for BHV.
On Races Ahead in Running and Apparel
Swiss challenger brand On and fellow high-performance Hoka have rewritten the rules of the premium running market. They have won over consumers with a ruthless pursuit of innovation, the latest of which is On’s LightSpray technology. The lace-less manufacturing process uses robotic arms to spray a single-piece upper directly onto the shoe using a mixed plastic pellet that is spun into a kind of cotton candy as an exceptionally lightweight product.
“What we’re doing now is on the bleeding edge of technology,” On Co-CEO Caspar Coppetti told me during a major press event in Zurich. He said the long-term implications stretch well beyond performance. Automation makes manufacturing geographically closer to customers, moving away from dependence on Asian based production. On plans for local manufacturing, including in the U.S. and Europe. “That should mean faster and more agile supply chains and the ability to manufacture tighter inventory to avoid selling off-price. We don’t have any off-price strategy, and we don’t manufacture for outlet,” he added.
While manufacturing may diversify from Asia, that does not mean the Asian consumer is no longer a key target; On foresees opening more high-end stores in major cities, including Shanghai. On said that health and wellbeing are becoming far more popular across Asia. In this rapidly expanding market, consumers tend to wear single-brand outfits (as opposed to Western consumers who typically mix and match), and they prioritize premium apparel, sparking On’s move into apparel.
Luxury Moves into Thailand and Malaysia
Australian luggage brand July built much of its reputation online and is now accelerating store openings across Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as it targets affluent Asian travelers and urban professionals. Luxury groups including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Cartier and Moncler have also committed to major flagship investments in Bangkok, reflecting growing confidence in Thailand as both a tourism destination and regional luxury hub.
Many of the store openings are focused on Siam Paragon and IconSiam malls following Bangkok’s rise to fourth place globally for new luxury brand openings in Savills Research’s ‘Top 10 Global Alpha & Destination Cities’ ranking, just below New York, Beijing and Paris. Since last year, more than 40 luxury brands and concept stores have opened across the two malls, adding nearly 150,000 square feet of retail space.
Mixue and Relentless Affordability
Mixue may be the biggest F&B operator you’ve never heard of. It’s the world’s largest foodservice chain by outlets, and the Chinese bubble tea, coffee and soft-serve ice cream chain has grown into a global empire with more than 53,000 stores, overtaking both McDonald’s and Starbucks in store count. Founded in 1997 in Zhengzhou by university student Zhang Hongchao, Mixue began as a simple shaved-ice business and has built its strategy around relentless affordability. Its signature soft-serve ice cream often sells for little more than a $1, while drinks typically cost just a few dollars. This year, it opened its first outlets in the U.S., testing stores in New York and Los Angeles to figure out whether the American consumer is ready for its ultra-low-price model.
Expansion has not been without its challenges. Three years after entering Japan, Mixue still operates only four stores in the country, far short of its initial target of 1,000 outlets by 2028. The company also made a high-profile entry into Hong Kong in late 2023, opening nine stores in its first year. But then it closed a third of its outlets in the first six months of 2026, with its store in Tsim Sha Tsui the latest to shutter.
While it closed a net 428 international stores in 2025, many of them older outlets in Southeast Asia, it has developed comprehensive supply chains in the region and is entering new markets such as Kazakhstan. It also hopes to open a factory in Brazil to supply stores in the Americas, having recently opened its first Brazilian store in São Paulo aiming for 500 to 1,000 stores across the country by 2030.
