Fashion
After France, Italy squares up to Shein
By
AFP
Published
November 7, 2025
After its troubles in France, Shein faces more opposition in Italy, where the e-commerce giant is wooing shoppers in fashion capital Milan- but where the government and industry are mobilising.
“The textile sector is under attack,” Luca Sburlati, head of Italian fashion trade body Confindustria Moda, told AFP. “Hundreds of thousands of packages arrive in our homes every day. We must react.”
Italy is known for its high-end fashion, the home of global brands including Gucci and Prada, and the industry makes up around five percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
But cheap and cheerful clothes are as popular in Italy as the rest of Europe, including bought through Shein’s ultra-competitive platform.
Founded in China and now based in Singapore, Shein last month staged its first Italian catwalk show in Milan. The same week, the government hosted urgent talks on the impact of “ultra-fast fashion”.
Adolfo Urso, the minister for the “Made in Italy” brand, warned of “an “invasion of low-cost foreign products that harm our producers and put consumers at risk.”
The clothes industry is expected to present a new strategic plan for Italian fashion next week.
At the European Union level, the industry wants an end to the exemption from customs duties for packages worth under 150 euros ($173), following a similar charge in the US.
Critics warn of the environmental impact of clothes so cheap they can be worn once and thrown away, while Shein has also come under scrutiny for conditions at its textile factories.
This week, Italy’s government brought into law a European Union directive that seeks to improve transparency in sales, particularly on the environmental impact of products. Shein has already been sanctioned in this area in Italy and France.
The French government has said it was suspending the platform after outrage over its sale of childlike sex dolls. At the same time, nearly 8,000 people queued for the opening of Shein’s first permanent store, located in Paris’s BHV department store.
In style-conscious Milan, the platform is also hugely popular. “In Milan, you can’t go out if you’re not stylish,” Mattia Trebino told AFP at Shein’s fashion show last month.
The 24-year-old, who wore a faux-crocodile skin jacket, said he receives about four Shein packages every month. “These clothes, you can only wear them once or twice at most. But they’re really cheap,” he said.
Shein’s autumn/winter collection was inspired in part by 1980s Milan, featuring three-piece-suits and faux fur coats.
“The idea was to show that everyone can find their style at Shein- and to respond to our critics,” Luca Raveillon, the show’s French artistic director, told AFP. Gesturing to the collections, he said: “Look, it’s beautiful. It’s good quality, it fits perfectly. “We look great in it, and we can express ourselves with what we wear”- while keeping costs low, as “life is getting expensive”.
Alessia Tresoldi, a 27-year-old Italian influencer sat in the front row, shared images of the show with her one million Instagram followers. Shein “looks at what’s happening on the street”, she told AFP, and described the show as “amazing”.
The website offers a 100% polyester ‘fur’ coat from the show in 15 different colours, starting at 28 euros with free shipping. Boosted by such low prices, European consumers buy 60% more clothing than they did in 2000, and keep it for half as long, according to an October report by consultants The European House-Ambrosetti.
The study’s author, Carlo Cici, said the European fashion industry must innovate more to stand out. “Consumers are very interested in sustainability but aren’t willing to pay for it,” he wrote.
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By
Bloomberg
Published
December 9, 2025
After four blockbuster years, the Middle East’s initial public offering boom is losing steam as valuations come under scrutiny and listings roar back in the US and Asia. In recent months, the Gulf’s listing volumes have fallen to their lowest since the pandemic, investors have become markedly more selective, and the region’s once-reliable first-day pop has faded.
The change in sentiment was on show this week as Saudi Arabia’s EFSIM Facilities Management canceled plans for an up to $89 million listing on the kingdom’s main exchange. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has also slowed work on several planned first-time share sales, Bloomberg News has reported. Those moves come as the benchmark Tadawul index has dropped nearly 12% this year.
The Gulf had been a rare bright spot in recent years, buoyed by government privatisations and a push to deepen local capital markets. But lower oil prices have started to cloud the Middle East’s growth outlook, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, as IPO activity fired back up elsewhere, a region that thrived in a global listings drought suddenly faced competition.
The most striking shift this year was the sharp drop in IPO volumes across the Gulf, with regional listing proceeds more than halving from $13 billion to under $6 billion in 2025. In the UAE, listings slowed dramatically after the soft debuts of Lulu Retail Holdings PLC and Talabat Holding PLC late last year left investors more cautious. Dubai-based online classifieds platform Dubizzle Ltd. postponed its first-time share sale, a rare example of a pulled deal in the country. Oman, which had briefly outpaced London in IPO volumes in 2024, also saw activity dry up.
In Saudi Arabia, the EFSIM deal was pulled in part due to generally weaker market demand, people familiar with the matter said. Still, the kingdom’s IPO proceeds held steady compared to last year at roughly $4 billion, helping the kingdom reclaim its title as the Gulf’s busiest listing venue. But most deals came from the private sector as the government eased off on large privatisations.
“Government IPOs are large tickets, this year the market was not for this,” said Mostafa Gad, head of investment banking at EFG Hermes, one of the leading arranger of share sales in the Gulf. “Postponing the big ones was a very wise idea.”
The shift in sentiment was evident in deal size as well. Last year produced three IPOs nearing $2 billion after strong orderbooks allowed Talabat and Lulu to upsize their offerings late in the process, even though that enthusiasm didn’t carry into trading. In 2025, there was just one billion-dollar deal from low-cost carrier Flynas, and only four transactions topped $500 million.
Investors pushed toward smaller, simpler stories with clearer financials, “Anything above $500 million starts to get difficult,” said Gad, “People are not willing to navigate through a lot of complexity.”
If UAE IPOs slowed, follow-ons filled the gap. Secondary share sales in the emirates climbed toward $5 billion, overtaking IPO proceeds for the first time. Much of that activity came from Abu Dhabi government-backed shareholders trimming stakes to boost free floats, liquidity and index weightings.
Even Qatar, which has largely missed the Gulf-wide share sale boom, saw rare activity: Ooredoo’s multi-million-dollar stake sale by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority became the country’s most significant ECM event in years. Saudi follow-on volumes were more muted than last year, which was dominated by the government’s $12 billion sell-down in oil major Aramco.
Another defining shift came in performance. The 30% plus first-day jumps that had become a feature of Gulf listings started to crack in late 2024 and evaporated in 2025. In Saudi Arabia, the average listing gain turned negative, and only two of the kingdom’s ten largest IPOs now trade above offer. Broader market weakness didn’t help – Saudi equities were among the worst performers in emerging markets this year, dragged down by softer oil prices and concerns that this could dampen government spending.
Demand has also suffered in recent listings. Riyadh developer Al Ramz’s institutional investor books were only 11 times covered earlier this month, a far cry from the triple-digit oversubscription levels that were the norm months ago.
IPOs in the UAE fared better, but signs of fatigue appeared there too. Even contractor Alec Holdings PJSC – state-backed and the kind of deal that historically delivered a strong debut – traded tepidly on day one and is up a modest 3%. Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s main stock indices overall performed relatively well, but instant double-digit listing gains were no longer a given.
For some, that’s a welcome correction. “Everyone will adjust to the idea that not all IPOs will perform 30–40% on day one,” Gad said. “We’re becoming a mature market.”
Manufacturers reported softer declines in output, with some firms increasing production in anticipation of stronger future demand. Consumer goods producers saw a marginal improvement, while operating conditions remained weak in intermediate and investment goods categories.
Japan’s manufacturing PMI edged up to 48.7 in November from 48.2, marking a fifth month of contraction but the mildest decline since August.
Weak demand and falling new orders persisted, though output softened and employment rose slightly.
Input costs increased at the fastest pace since June, prompting higher selling prices.
Business confidence reached a 10-month high as firms anticipated recovery.
New business continued to fall solidly amid sluggish global conditions, tighter customer budgets, and reduced capital investment. Export orders also declined, albeit at a modest pace, S&P Global said in a press release.
Cost pressures intensified, with input prices rising at the fastest rate since June, driven by increased staffing and raw material expenses. Firms raised selling prices again at a solid pace to offset cost burdens.
Purchasing activity and inventories fell further as companies adjusted to subdued demand. Stocks of purchased items declined at the steepest rate in five years, while delivery times lengthened for a fifteenth straight month due to supplier shortages.
Employment saw a slight uptick—the fastest increase in three months—as firms filled vacancies and prepared for planned expansions and upcoming retirements. Backlogs of work continued to decline for the 38th consecutive month.
Despite persistent weakness in current conditions, business confidence improved to a ten-month high, reflecting expectations of gradual recovery ahead.
“The latest PMI data showed that Japan’s manufacturing sector continued to struggle with weak demand conditions in November, with firms signalling another solid decline in overall new business. Reduced demand was reported across key markets across Asia, with weaker-than-expected sales across the automotive and semiconductor industries noted in particular,” said Annabel Fiddes, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“Encouragingly, production fell at a slower and only marginal rate, which coincided with improved optimism around the year-ahead. Overall, business confidence rose to the highest level since the start of the year. Upbeat projections also supported a further rise in employment, as a number of firms anticipated a recovery in market demand over the course of 2026,” added Fiddes. “With Japan’s new prime minister recently announcing a substantial economic stimulus package – the biggest since the pandemic – it will be important to see how this impacts demand and the sector’s performance as the administration seeks to boost investment in key strategic areas such as AI.”
The survey indicated that Japanese factories were more upbeat about the 12-month outlook for output in November. Furthermore, the degree of optimism was the highest seen since January amid reports of new product launches and forecasts of stronger customer demand, added the release.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
The more active March 2026 cotton futures settled at 63.68 cents per pound, down 0.25 cents. The contract has shown a declining trend for the sixth consecutive day. The May 2026 contract fell 25 points, while the July 2026 contract eased 24 points. Other contracts closed mixed, fluctuating between 26 points lower and 23 points higher.
ICE cotton futures fell as traders turned cautious ahead of USDA’s WASDE report and Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve meeting.
The March 2026 contract dropped for a sixth straight day, settling at 63.68 cents.
Trading volume hit a 12-session high, while deliverable stocks declined.
Analysts expect only minor WASDE adjustments, with slightly weaker export estimates.
Total ICE trading volume rose to 40,884 contracts, the highest in 12 sessions. Friday’s cleared volume was 36,584. The December 2025 contract entered its final trading day with an exceptionally wide 2,055-point range between 60.79 and 81.34 cents per pound.
Market sentiment remained cautious due to profit-taking ahead of Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve meeting. Traders expect a strong likelihood of a rate cut, but rising US Treasury yields are weighing on market confidence.
The USDA WASDE update for the week ending December 9 is expected to show limited changes, with market analysts anticipating a slight downward revision in export estimates.
ICE deliverable No. 2 cotton stocks on December 5 fell to 13,971 bales from 15,585 bales. Major US stock indices also closed lower ahead of the Fed decision.
This morning (Indian Standard Time), ICE cotton for March 2026 was at 63.73 cents per pound (up 0.05 cent), cash cotton at 61.68 cents (down 0.25 cent), the December 2025 contract at 61.88 cents (down 0.25 cent), the May 2026 contract at 64.80 cents (up 0.04 cent), the July 2026 contract at 65.86 cents (up 0.06 cent), and the October 2026 contract at 66.57 cents (down 0.26 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels with no trading recorded so far today.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
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