One of the most prominent online fast fashion retailers on earth has announced that it will soon be opening up a physical shop at none other than the CF Toronto Eaton Centre — but it won’t be around for long.
Similar to the temporary brick-and-mortar location it built at Stackt Market last summer, SHEIN will be bringing its ridiculously-inexpensive wares to the Eaton Centre later this month.
“The SHEIN pop-up shop experience is for those looking to get a head start on finding their spring wardrobe must-haves at the most affordable prices!” said a rep for the brand to blogTO by email.
“SHEIN carries multiple brands and categories for women’s, men’s, kid’s and size-inclusive fashion, along with accessories, beauty, pet and home goods. The two special collections that will be available at the pop-up will include EvoluSHEIN and SHEIN X.”
The pop-up store will launch on Thursday, March 23, at 2 p.m. on Level 1 of the busy downtown Toronto mall. You’ll find it on the north side of the mall, in a space recently vacated by the Toronto Blue Jays’ Jays Shop.
Reps for the Chinese-owned brand say that pop-up patrons will have access to “complimentary treats from the SHEIN Cafe” as well as “SHEGLAM beauty gifts for guests who post on social media live from the shop.”
SHEIN, which just opened up its own 170,000-square-foot office and distribution facility in the GTA in November, is known for selling an immense collection of goods that some criticize as problematically cheap.
Yet, despite serving as the face of a controversial faster-than-ever fashion industry, consumers can’t seem to resist SHEIN’s prices and infinite product offerings.
Where else can you score a $4 fried chicken wing necklace, a $5 password-protected piggy bank and literally hundreds of Kardashian-esque cut-out dresses for less than $20?
The upcoming Toronto pop-up shop is one of several planned in North America, where no permanent SHEIN stores exist. It is of note, however, that the brand did open its first real brick-and-mortar retail location just a few months ago, in November of 2022, in Tokyo.
Some people in Toronto joked last week that SHEIN could potentially take over the massive Eaton Centre flagship space soon to be vacated by Nordstrom, which plans to pull out of Canada completely by June.
The possibility of more IRL shops doesn’t seem like a stretch as SHEIN continues to grow despite rampant environmental and labour concerns, securing a $100 billion USD valuation last year to become larger than Zara and H&M combined.
