Shein Overtakes Asos in the UK: Sales, Profit and What Comes Next
Shein overtook British rival Asos in UK sales last year. Its UK division increased sales by 26% to £2.58bn, according to accounts filed at Companies House. The Guardian
The filing puts UK pre-tax profit, or profit before tax, up 18% to £45.2m. Current tax paid rose to £11.2m from £9.6m a year before. Headcount increased to 113 from 91.
The accounts belong to SHEIN DISTRIBUTION UK LIMITED. Companies House, the UK register of companies, lists company number 13603594 with Active status. Its last accounts were made up to 31 December 2024, with the next accounts, made up to 31 December 2025, due by 30 September 2026. Companies House
Asos, by comparison, reported £1,113.5m in adjusted revenue, or sales after accounting adjustments, against £1,291.6m in HY25, and £1,170.1m in Gross Merchandise Value, or the total value of goods sold, against £1,277.4m. Adjusted gross margin, the share of sales kept after direct costs, improved to 48.5% from 45.2%. ASOS Investors Total customer numbers dropped 14% in fiscal 2025 from the previous year. Reuters
The pattern here is a shift from chasing volume to protecting profit. In March 2026 Asos reiterated its fiscal 2026 annual profit forecast of £150 million to £180 million. Reuters Falling revenue paired with a wider margin points to a cost-focused revamp. Tight control of costs is doing the work that customer growth once did.
Shein's own newsroom record for 2025 and 2026 documents a parallel compliance and logistics track. Items in September 2026 cover an extended compliance training collaboration with the EU's SPEAC and a third Tools Day event on factory-floor technology and skills development. An August 2026 item records a strategic MoU, a formal cooperation agreement, with Sinotrans on new energy vehicle logistics and digital innovation. Earlier items record sustainable aviation fuel pilot initiatives and a GoGreen Plus agreement with DHL in March 2026, and a European logistics hub in Wroclaw, Poland, lifting total jobs created in Poland to 5,000 in December 2025. SHEIN Newsroom
Other entries include a June 2026 expansion of marketplace seller education on product safety and quality compliance, an April 2026 update on amplifying supplier and worker engagement through third-party partnerships, a March 2026 release of its 2025 Global Circularity Study on how consumers buy, use and manage clothing, and publication of its 2024 Sustainability and Social Impact Report on 13 June 2025. A May 2025 release targeted 2.5 million product safety and quality tests in 2025.
The broader context here is a divergence in operating models within UK value fashion. One side is scaling revenue while keeping a UK corporate footprint of just over 100 employees. The other is accepting a smaller customer base and lower top line while defending margin and guiding to higher profit. For trade specialists, the relevant variables are cost structure, inventory risk, and where product safety, labour and logistics compliance costs settle. Scale is no longer the debate. Durability is.
Looking at what this means for the next filing cycle, the test will be whether Shein can convert sales velocity into sustained UK profit growth and whether Asos can stabilise revenue without reversing margin gains. The due date for Shein's accounts to 31 December 2025 will provide the next comparable data point. Until then, the 2024 filings establish the crossover.
