Shein and Authentic Brands Partner on Co-Branded Forever 21 Collection

Fast-fashion platform Shein and brand portfolio owner Authentic Brands Group have formed a partnership that will bring the Forever 21 brand to Shein’s platform.

Under this strategic agreement, Shein will design, manufacture and distribute a line of Forever 21 apparel and accessories, including sportswear, activewear and swimwear, that will be co-branded as Forever 21 x Shein, the companies said in a Friday (Oct. 27) press release.

The partnership will leverage Shein’s on-demand production model, which helps reduce inventory waste, according to the release.

Customers will be able to purchase items from the Forever 21 x Shein collection exclusively on Shein sites in the United States, parts of Europe and Australia, the release said. The collection will be available on Shein’s website, as well as other Shein-branded retail and digital channels.

This partnership comes after Shein’s acquisition of an approximately one-third interest in SPARC Group, a joint venture that includes Authentic and Simon Property Group, in August, per the release. SPARC is the core operating partner of Forever 21 in the U.S., and at the time that acquisition, SPARC became a minority shareholder in Shein.

Shein connects brands with consumers through digital interaction and can “deliver trends at speed,” Authentic founder, Chairman and CEO Jamie Salter said in the release.

“We are excited to partner with Shein, as this collaboration perfectly fits into our distribution strategy for the brand’s new key markets,” Salter said.

Shein Executive Chairman Donald Tang said in the release: “This exciting new aspect of our partnership with Authentic furthers our goal of making fashion accessible to all and we look forward to bringing this to life for our customers.”

When announcing the alliance of Shein and Authentic in August, Salter told The Wall Street Journal that the collaboration could someday include other SPARC brands. The company’s portfolio also includes Reebok, Eddie Bauer and Aeropostale.

For its part, Shein aims to widen its U.S. customer base by working to collaboration with smaller-scale American vendors and by prodding customers into exploring a greater range of offerings beyond clothing.

In addition, Shein could conceivably operate within the brick-and-mortar Forever 21 stores, PYMNTS reported at the time. The partnership also could allow customers to return items bought from Shein at the more than 400 Forever 21 locations in the U.S.

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