The Chinese migrants turning their UK homes into Temu and Shein warehouses
Chinese immigrants in Britain are converting their homes into makeshift warehouses for goods ordered via China’s booming shopping apps
In Kevin Zhang’s quiet, two-storey house in Gloucester, hundreds of parcels blanket the living room floor. Each package – shipped from China – is bound for British customers who placed orders on Temu, TikTok Shop and AliExpress.
Zhang, 49, moved to the United Kingdom from China’s rustbelt northeast in 2000, and spent years running a local nail salon. But in March, he sensed that something big was happening with China’s cross-border e-commerce platforms – and decided to make a change.
He transformed some unused space in his home into a pop-up warehouse, and began processing orders on behalf of Chinese exporters: handling, picking, packing, labelling and distributing packages across Britain for £1 (US$1.35) per parcel.
The business has quickly snowballed. After just a few months, the side hustle is already earning Zhang nearly £2,000 a month – on par with a typical graduate starting salary in London.
“Demand from Chinese exporters is so strong, I’ve had to start turning people away,” he told the Post.
Makeshift warehouses like Zhang’s are spreading across the UK, as Chinese immigrants cash in on the rapid expansion of China’s shopping platforms in the country.
The goods were originally bound for the US, but now they’re coming to the UK instead. The pound gives sellers a better margin
Sales in the UK have been rising so fast that Chinese exporters are struggling to keep up. On RedNote, a Chinese social platform, there are reams of posts from vendors looking for reliable British warehousing and distribution partners.