Invitée de La Grande Interview sur BFM Business, Sandrine Zerbib, cheffe d’entreprise et ancienne présidente d’Adidas Chine, intervient aux côtés de l’économiste Jean-Paul Tchang et de l’eurodéputée Aurore Lalucq. L’émission revient notamment sur les conséquences économiques de la politique commerciale de Donald Trump et sur les relations entre les États-Unis, la Chine et l’Europe.

Sandrine Zerbib apporte son expérience du marché chinois pour analyser le retour des tensions commerciales et des droits de douane. La politique menée par Donald Trump pousse les entreprises internationales à revoir leurs stratégies et à s’adapter à un environnement économique devenu plus incertain. Les relations commerciales avec la Chine occupent une place importante dans ces nouvelles décisions.

L’émission s’intéresse également à la situation européenne. Face aux politiques américaines et à la puissance industrielle chinoise, l’Europe doit trouver les moyens de défendre ses entreprises et sa compétitivité. La question d’une éventuelle taxation européenne des super-profits est également abordée dans le débat.

Pour les entreprises, cette période oblige donc à anticiper davantage les changements politiques et économiques. L’expérience de Sandrine Zerbib en Chine permet notamment de rappeler que les décisions prises par les grandes puissances ont des conséquences concrètes sur les échanges internationaux, les investissements et les stratégies des entreprises.

Cette intervention met ainsi en évidence un contexte mondial où la politique et l’économie sont de plus en plus liées. Entre le retour de Donald Trump, les tensions avec la Chine et les interrogations européennes, les entreprises doivent évoluer dans un marché international plus complexe et plus instable.

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According to Sandrine Zerbib, an expert on consumer trends in China, this development can be explained in particular by Chinese manufacturers’ desire to move upmarket. She argues that these groups have already mastered mass production and logistics, but face greater challenges when it comes to creating brands capable of attracting international consumers over the long term. Acquiring Western companies therefore offers a faster way to gain strong brand recognition and access to already established expertise.

Technology and speed as key strengths

Sandrine Zerbib also highlights the strength of the Chinese industrial model. Automation, data management, logistics and speed of execution allow Chinese companies to respond very quickly to changes in demand. Faced with this level of efficiency, she believes that European companies need to find a balance between protection and cooperation in order to safeguard their interests while learning from certain Chinese methods.

However, this strategy is not new. Since the early 2000s, several Chinese acquisitions have proved highly successful, including Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC business, Geely’s acquisition of Volvo, and Haier’s acquisition of General Electric’s home appliance business. According to Sandrine Zerbib, these successes are largely due to the buyers’ ability to respect the identity and heritage of the brands they acquire.

An ambitious strategy, but not without risks

However, not all of these deals have been successful. Some acquisitions in the fashion, hospitality and entertainment sectors have faced difficulties. Sandrine Zerbib points out that Chinese investments have sometimes been made in a rather uncoordinated way. Nevertheless, she believes that the new wave of acquisitions now appears to be more structured and carefully planned, even though some failures will remain inevitable.

Through this new wave of expansion, Chinese groups are no longer simply seeking to manufacture products for major international brands. They now aim to own strong brands, acquire technologies and expertise, and expand their influence in global markets. This shift could gradually reshape the balance of power between Chinese and Western companies.

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According to Sandrine Zerbib, an expert on consumer trends in China, this development can also be explained by the difficulties some Western companies have faced in the Chinese market. She believes that the way these companies operate no longer always meets the expectations of highly digitalized Chinese consumers, who are particularly receptive to innovation. Chinese groups, on the other hand, have strong expertise in data management, logistics, automation and speed of execution.

This advantage is particularly evident in the textile industry. Despite her criticism of Shein, Sandrine Zerbib acknowledges the efficiency of its production system, which is capable of quickly adjusting production volumes and distributing small orders across a large number of workshops. According to her, European companies could draw inspiration from some of these methods to improve their industrial efficiency. The challenge, therefore, is to strike a balance between the need to protect European companies and the benefits of cooperating with Chinese businesses in order to learn from their technologies and organizational methods.

Sandrine Zerbib also points out that Chinese acquisitions in the West are nothing new. Since the 2000s, several major deals have taken place, such as Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC business, Geely’s acquisition of Volvo, and Haier’s acquisition of General Electric’s home appliance business. According to her, these acquisitions were successful largely because the buyers managed to preserve the identity of the brands they acquired.

However, not all acquisitions have been equally successful. Several Chinese investments in Western companies have produced disappointing results. Nevertheless, Sandrine Zerbib believes that the new wave of acquisitions now appears to be more structured and carefully planned, although she warns that some failures will remain inevitable.

Ultimately, this new strategy reflects a shift in China’s ambitions. It is no longer simply about producing at low cost or gaining access to Western markets, but also about moving upmarket and building companies capable of competing with major multinationals. For European companies, the challenge will therefore be to “find the right balance” between protection and cooperation, at a time when Chinese groups are developing increasingly strong industrial and technological capabilities.

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For a long time, the Chinese group Anta Sports focused on low-cost footwear, but it has since radically transformed its business model. By acquiring international brands such as Fila, Wilson, Salomon, and Arc’teryx, the company has gradually built a portfolio capable of competing with the world’s leading players in the industry.

This strategy goes hand in hand with a major shift in consumer habits in China. Sandrine Zerbib, former head of Adidas in China, explains that the role of sport has changed in the country. Once seen mainly as something associated with school or as a secondary activity, sport is now considered a real investment in health and well-being. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, participation in sports has increased significantly, particularly in China’s major cities.

Consumer expectations have also evolved. General sports brands are facing increasing competition from specialized and technical brands, particularly in trail running, hiking, and outdoor sports. Brands such as Arc’teryx and Salomon are benefiting from this growing demand for technical products, which have also become a way for some Chinese consumers to express their identity and social status.

An acquisition strategy rather than direct expansion

Sandrine Zerbib herself contributed to Anta’s strategic planning. In 2010, after leaving Adidas and setting up her own consulting firm, Ding Shizhong, co-founder of the Chinese group, asked her to conduct a study on the brand’s opportunities for expansion in the United States. Her assessment was cautious: the U.S. market was already highly competitive, and entering it directly carried a significant risk of failure.

Anta therefore chose to focus on acquisitions. Rather than trying to establish a Chinese brand that was still relatively unknown internationally, the group acquired companies that already had a strong reputation in Europe or North America. It then sought to position them more firmly in the premium segment by focusing on technical products, more selective distribution, and higher prices.

Preserving the identity of acquired brands

According to Sandrine Zerbib, the success of this strategy also depends on Anta’s ability to preserve the authenticity of the companies it acquires. Acquiring a brand does not necessarily mean relocating all of its activities to China. In Salomon’s case, for example, the design teams have remained in Annecy.

According to her, a complete relocation could have harmed the brand’s credibility and identity, precisely the elements Anta had invested in. Mass production is still largely carried out in Asia, but certain areas of expertise, design activities, and technical skills remain associated with the brands’ countries of origin.

Anta’s strategy is therefore based on a balance: taking advantage of the strength of the Chinese market and the group’s efficiency while preserving the heritage of the international brands it has acquired. This approach has enabled the group to achieve strong growth, although its efforts to move its own Anta brand upmarket are still facing some challenges.

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She points out that in the past, sport in China was mainly seen as a school activity or a leisure pursuit. Today, sport is increasingly associated with health and well-being. This change in habits, which has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic, is supporting market growth. Chinese consumers are also looking for more specialized and technical products, particularly for hiking, trail running, and outdoor activities. Technical performance has therefore become a key factor of differentiation and, for some consumers, even a symbol of social status.

Sandrine Zerbib also highlights the importance of the strategic decisions made by Anta Sports. When she left Adidas in 2010 to set up her own consulting firm, Anta’s co-founder, Ding Shizhong, asked her to explore the company’s opportunities for expansion in the United States. Her analysis concluded that the U.S. market was already highly competitive and that the risk of failure was significant for a Chinese brand that was still relatively unknown.

Faced with this challenge, Anta chose a different approach: rather than directly introducing its own brand into Western markets, the group acquired already well-established brands and positioned them more firmly in the premium segment. This strategy allows Anta to benefit from their heritage, brand image, distribution networks, as well as their technical expertise and patents.

Sandrine Zerbib emphasizes, however, one essential point: preserving the identity and credibility of the acquired brands. In Salomon’s case, for example, the design teams have remained in Annecy. According to her, completely relocating these activities could have destroyed part of the value and authenticity that Anta had invested in. Mass production can remain in Asia, while strategic expertise, design, and certain areas of know-how remain connected to the brand’s country of origin.

This approach ultimately sums up a large part of Anta Sports’ strategy: combining the efficiency and strength of the Chinese market with the heritage of international brands. The group is therefore not simply seeking to acquire foreign companies, but also to develop them while preserving what makes them unique. This approach has enabled Anta to gradually build a strong international portfolio, although moving the Anta brand itself upmarket remains more difficult to achieve among consumers.

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As a guest on La Semaine de l’Éco on France 24, Sandrine Zerbib-Wang, founder of ZW Conseil and a specialist in the Chinese market, analyzes relations between the United States and China in the context of Donald Trump’s official visit. Despite a warm welcome and several trade commitments, tensions between the world’s two leading powers remain significant.

According to Sandrine Zerbib-Wang, relations between Washington and Beijing must be viewed from both an economic and a strategic perspective. The two countries have an interest in maintaining their trade relations, but they remain engaged in intense competition. Businesses are directly affected by this situation, as political decisions, tariffs, and diplomatic tensions can quickly change the conditions of international trade.

China remains a major economic power, but its relationship with the United States has become more complex. Behind announcements of cooperation and trade agreements, several issues continue to fuel tensions. Taiwan, geopolitical concerns, and economic and technological competition make it difficult to speak of any genuine and lasting easing of tensions.

Sandrine Zerbib-Wang’s analysis also highlights the importance of pragmatism in relations between the two powers. Even when they are politically opposed, China and the United States continue to share common economic interests. Companies must therefore learn to operate in an environment where cooperation and competition can coexist.

Donald Trump’s visit to China can therefore be seen as an attempt to renew dialogue and encourage trade. However, it does not mean that the rivalry between China and the United States has disappeared. The real challenge will be whether the two countries can preserve their economic relationship while managing their many disagreements.

According to Sandrine Zerbib-Wang, this confrontation cannot simply be reduced to the idea of an inevitable clash between Washington and Beijing. Above all, it reflects a new global balance in which the two powers must defend their interests, negotiate, and learn to coexist.

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As a guest on the France 5 program “En société,” Sandrine Zerbib, founder of ZW Conseil, former Adidas representative in China, and co-author of Dragon Tactics, discusses the relationship between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and, more broadly, the rivalry between the United States and China.

According to the analysis presented on the program, the confrontation between the two leaders goes far beyond their personalities. It represents a power struggle between the world’s two leading powers, which could play a major role in shaping the economic and political balance of the coming decades. Behind the official meetings, smiles, and handshakes lie major strategic interests.

Sandrine Zerbib draws on her experience in China to shed light on how economic and trade relations should be understood. China can no longer be seen simply as a manufacturing hub for Western companies. It has become an economic power capable of developing its own companies, technologies, and strategies, while strengthening its international influence.

The meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping therefore raises the question of whether the two countries can maintain a dialogue while remaining competitors. Trade tensions and each country’s determination to defend its own interests make their relationship complex. International companies must also take this new reality into account when seeking to do business with China.

Finally, the program raises the question of Europe’s place in this rivalry. Faced with two powers capable of shaping much of the global economic balance of power, European countries must determine how to defend their own interests without simply choosing between Washington and Beijing.

Through her contribution, Sandrine Zerbib presents the relationship between the United States and China as a balance between competition, negotiation, and interdependence. The Trump-Xi rivalry could become one of the defining factors of the coming years, both for the global economy and for businesses and international relations.

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According to Sandrine Zerbib, sport in China today is much more than just an economic sector. Its development reflects changes in the lifestyles and values of Chinese society. Consumers are placing increasing importance on sport, physical activity, and well-being.

This evolution is also transforming the market. Major international brands must now contend with the rise of Chinese competitors, which are more agile and able to respond quickly to changing consumer expectations. For foreign companies, international brand recognition is therefore no longer enough to maintain a dominant position.

Sandrine Zerbib therefore emphasizes the importance for these brands of gaining a better understanding of Chinese consumers and adapting to the specific characteristics of the local market. They need to keep up with new trends, adjust their strategies, and offer products and services that better match the habits and expectations of Chinese consumers.

Through the sports sector, a broader transformation of Chinese society ultimately becomes visible. The market remains promising, but it is also becoming more demanding and competitive, forcing major international brands to reinvent themselves in the face of increasingly successful local companies.

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Who actually makes the clothes sold by Kiabi, H&M, Zara, or Shein? Behind the very low prices and constantly changing collections lies a complex manufacturing chain, largely based on subcontracting and particularly difficult to trace.

As Shein continues to expand in France, particularly through the opening of physical stores, its business model continues to attract considerable criticism. Some industry players claim that the factories used by Shein also produce clothing for other major fashion retailers. However, this claim is disputed by representatives of the French fashion industry, who argue that brands do not necessarily rely on the same factories.

Very Difficult Traceability.

Clothing production is now largely globalized. A significant proportion of the products sold by many brands is manufactured in Asia. Production often involves several different companies: some handle spinning, while others are responsible for weaving, dyeing, or final assembly.

This organization makes it particularly difficult to identify the exact origin of a garment. Some brands may occasionally share the same suppliers. However, the real issue is not only where the clothes are made: production methods and working conditions can vary significantly from one company to another.

An Industry That Remains Highly Opaque.

Shein stands out for the extremely fast pace of its business model. The platform can launch several thousand new products every day, while orders are quickly sent to factories so that production can be adjusted to demand.

However, other major brands are not necessarily much more transparent. According to the information presented in the article, traceability remains very limited across the entire industry. It is therefore often difficult to accurately track every stage in the manufacturing process of a garment produced abroad.

Sandrine Zerbib points out that, despite the changes made in the industry since the Rana Plaza disaster, progress in terms of transparency remains limited.

Producing Less to Make Fashion More Responsible.

“Regulations are gradually seeking to improve the situation. In France, companies are notably required to provide more information about the origin of their products and certain stages of the manufacturing process.”

Some initiatives go even further by attempting to trace the entire production chain, from raw materials to the finished garment. However, improving traceability alone would not be enough to make the textile industry truly sustainable.

The volume of clothing produced remains a key issue. A more responsible fashion industry would therefore require not only better knowledge of where clothes come from, but also slower production, fewer products being placed on the market, and better working conditions.

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In French fashion, as at the highest level of the State, war has been declared on Shein. This Thursday, February 5, the courts are set to rule on appeal on the government’s request to suspend the platform, after child-abuse sex dolls were put up for sale on its marketplace. At the same time, 17 professional federations have launched legal action for unfair competition against the disposable-fashion giant.

Yet Frédéric Merlin, owner of Société des grands magasins (SGM), which has hosted the Chinese brand since December inside the Paris BHV, won’t budge: working with Shein is no less “ethical” than working with its competitors. “Whether this assembly likes it or not, the reality is that the factories that manufacture for Shein are exactly the same ones that manufacture for all the ‘mass market retailers’ in France,” he told the National Assembly on November 26, 2025.
That same day, Pierre-François Le Louët, co-president of the French Fashion and Apparel Industries Union, responded on Figaro TV: “That’s false. They are not the same factories, and obviously not the same workshops.”

Subcontracting, the watchword of the textile economy

While a clear-cut answer is hard to give, the debate at least has the merit of putting a central question on the table: what do we really know about how our clothes are made? Today, 95% of the clothing worn by the French comes from abroad, according to the Alliance du commerce. Kiabi, the French people’s favorite brand, is certainly growing its production in Turkey and Eastern Europe, but it still manufactures the vast majority of its items in Southeast Asia, particularly in China and Bangladesh – a country whose textile sector accounts for 80% of exports.

For Decathlon, the third most popular brand in France, also owned by the Mulliez group, the pattern is the same: two-thirds of production in Asia, with a few production sites based in Europe and Africa. Other mid-range French brands, such as those of the SMCP group (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot), say they are focusing on partially relocating their operations and report producing 23% of their items in Europe, 30% in the Mediterranean basin, and 47% in Asia.

In textiles, the watchword is subcontracting. A product of history.
As early as the 19th century, clothing was among the first industries to globalize its supply chain and lean heavily on the division of labor, leading to an ever more abundant and cheap supply. Two centuries later, brands from the Old Continent have completely abandoned garment production, focusing instead on design creation, marketing, and product sales.

Shein and Kiabi: same factories, same secrets?

The various links in the manufacturing chain are thus delegated to a cascade of suppliers that the industry classifies as tier 1, 2, or 3, depending on whether they handle garment assembly, buying fabric from a spinning mill, dyeing it, or supplying fibers from traders, ginners, or cotton growers, and so on. The further upstream a supplier’s stage falls, the harder it becomes to trace.

Questioned by La Croix, Kiabi states that “to its knowledge,” it shares “no tier-1 assembly supplier (under direct contract with the company, ed.) with Shein, with the exception of a single supplier specializing in belt manufacturing.” It is harder to know more about tiers 2 and 3. “Obviously it’s possible that Shein could have workshops and suppliers in common with giants like H&M, or French brands such as Kiabi and Decathlon,” says MP Anne-Cécile Violland (Horizons), rapporteur of the bill aimed at reducing the textile industry’s environmental impact.

But according to Shein’s opponents, what’s at stake is not just where the clothes are made, but also the conditions under which they are produced. “The gap between the production standards of French and European brands and those of Shein is abysmal,” says Bernard Cherqui, CEO of Mondial Tissus and president of the Alliance du commerce.

Guangzhou, capital of ultra-fast fashion

French brand Kiabi relies on mass clothing production spread across six annual collections; its European competitors, such as Ireland’s Primark, Sweden’s H&M, or Spain’s Zara, can go as high as 36 collections a year. In this model known as fast fashion, orders, prices, and deadlines are set in advance so that manufacturers can in turn organize themselves with their subcontractors.

It’s the brands that impose their conditions on the factories to secure low prices,” explains Marie Nguyen, co-founder of We Dress Fair, a company committed to eco-responsible fashion. “So, to achieve economies of scale, the subcontractor inevitably cuts corners on human rights in countries where minimum social standards are not respected.

This system, accepted and now standard in the textile industry, has been pushed to the extreme by Shein through its self-proclaimed business model: on-demand production. Unlike its European competitors, whose model still relies on planned collections, the Chinese giant launches 7,000 new items every day. These are initially produced in very small quantities. Powered by artificial intelligence, its algorithms analyze sales and trends in real time; when an item takes off, the company switches to mass production in under a week.

A European reporter was able to visit Shein’s “factory villages” in the streets of Guangzhou, a stronghold of Chinese manufacturing. It is here, more than 8,000 kilometers from France, in huge tiled buildings lining streets crammed with textile workshops, that Shein reveals its true face. He told La Croix: “There are thousands of small businesses, each equipped with a computer displaying Shein’s orders in real time. The workshop manager can accept or decline the order, depending on whether he thinks he can produce it in time. Shein’s system really is like Uber’s, but for clothes.

Disposable fashion, sustainable exploitation

The pace imposed by this model, along with the low prices of the items offered by the Chinese brand – around €7 in France – puts pressure on foremen and, in turn, on workers, who report being paid between €0.06 and €0.27 per piece, depending on the complexity of the task.

Shein claims 7,200 contracted suppliers (workshops from which the company buys its finished products directly), compared with 949 for Decathlon and its sports equipment, or 183 for Kiabi and its clothing. Such a fragmentation of production across a myriad of subcontractors inevitably hampers the monitoring of social, environmental, and health standards.

In July 2025, the publication of the report “Disposable Fashion, Sustainable Exploitation” by the NGOs ActionAid and China Labor Watch revealed that human rights violations were still ongoing in Guangzhou. “While Shein refines its media narrative, workers continue to pay the heavy price of its business model: large-scale exploitation, gender discrimination, and a lack of social protection,” the report states.

Shein is Uber or Deliveroo for clothes

For its part, the Chinese company, now headquartered in Singapore, states it has zero tolerance on three central points: “Child labor, forced labor, and refusal to submit to an independent audit.”
“We encourage organizations such as China Labor Watch and ActionAid to engage directly with us, to share their findings (…) in order to understand the full context. We regret that, to date, they have chosen not to do so,” the company told La Croix.

Enough to enrage the heads of French brands. “They are incapable of ensuring the traceability of their clothes, they manufacture like a Deliveroo platform. Shein is like the kebab shop down the street that can’t say where its meat comes from,” fumes the head of a ready-to-wear brand.

Quite happy to have a ready-made enemy, are European brands really any more virtuous? “Their model has only slightly improved since the Rana Plaza disaster (which killed 1,100 people in Bangladesh, ed.) in 2013,” says Sandrine Zerbib, former president of Adidas’s Chinese division, bluntly.

By combing through the documentation of the world’s 250 largest brands, Fashion Revolution’s 2023 transparency report exposed the industry’s main blind spot: supply chain traceability. On this specific criterion, Zara scored 11/100, for example, Decathlon only 1/100, while Kiabi and Sandro posted the same score as Shein, the lowest possible: 0/100.

Transparency on the shelf, behind the scenes

This blindness, whether deliberate or not, can backfire on the brands themselves. As happened in 2025, when an investigation by the outlet Disclose accused French sporting giant Decathlon of working with Chinese subcontractors involved in the forced labor of Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic group. The brand denied the allegations. “The problem is systemic: sometimes brands can themselves be victims of the lack of transparency among the workshops they work with,” explains Marie Nguyen.

“We run into enormous opacity as soon as we try to trace how our clothes are manufactured abroad,” says MP Anne-Cécile Violland, who would like a parliamentary inquiry committee to be opened on the subject.

Since 2023, things have gradually been changing. The anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC) now requires brands to state the countries of origin for the garment’s last three manufacturing stages, as well as the presence of recycled material, hazardous substances, microplastic fibers, and recyclability.

Reshoring for greater clarity?

On Sandro’s website, for example, a few clicks are now enough to learn that this velvet shirt from the winter 2026 collection contains 35% recycled material, was dyed and woven in Italy, then sewn in Bulgaria. This feature is made possible by its partnership with the French start-up Fairly Made, which began collecting data on the textile industry in 2018.

“We review the audit information and certificates available for all suppliers, right back to fiber production, and provide them to our clients,” explains Laure Betsch, one of the co-founders. The company works with around a hundred retailers, including LVMH, Leclerc, and SMCP.

To break with the opacity of this fragmented sector, eco-responsible brands argue that production chains above all need to be shortened by relocating them. But this return to the Old Continent can only happen on condition of “reducing volumes to ensure decent working conditions,” Marie Nguyen stresses. Getting to know our clothes better requires slowing down the pace.

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