‘Everyone’s just bleeding’: unsold spring fashions in Shanghai pile up after lockdowns for Covid-19

Top brands and retailers in China’s fashion capital have been left with unsold clothes and accessories following two months of Covid-19 lockdowns

Other than in-store and online sales they have few options to clear stock. One insider says: ‘What are you going to do that’s not going to destroy your brand?

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A man in Shanghai, wearing a face mask following the Omicron Covid-19 outbreak in spring, walks past a sale sign in the window of a Victoria’s Secret store. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:15pm, 26 Jun 2022

Almost a month after Shanghai lifted its strict Covid-19 lockdowns, fashion retailers are stuck with piles of unsold stock as cautious consumers stay away from the city’s glitzy shopping districts.

Shanghai, China’s fashion capital and a city of 25 million people, ground to a halt in April and May because of curbs on movement to stop the spread of the Omicron strain of the virus. That left clothing and beauty product displays in stores untouched and containers of imported apparel stranded at port.

The city’s reopening in June saw a flood of goods move from warehouses to store shelves already laden with merchandise unsold during two months of lockdown. Normally around a fifth of all imported goods coming into China pass through Shanghai’s port.

Days after Covid-19 curbs eased, large “sales” signs went up across Shanghai, with retailers from Lululemon to Victoria’s Secret offering discounts to lure shoppers.

A worker cleans the facade of a Chanel store in Shanghai. Fashion and beauty retailers are looking to clear a mountain of unsold stock following Covid-19 lockdowns that have left shoppers nervous. Photo: Reuters

Even online retailers have struggled to clear a glut caused by lockdowns and supply interruptions.