Over the past year, there's been a huge influx of Chinese goods into the European market.

One of the biggest companies selling these goods is Sheehan, the company famous for fast fashion at low prices.

In November, Sheehan opened its first permanent store in Europe, in a popular department store in Paris.

Tell me about what happened when Sheehan opened a store in Paris.

Chaos, absolute chaos.

That's our colleague Chelsea Delaney.

It was chaotic because there were tons of people lining up, eager to shop.

And right next to them, angry Parisians who wanted Sheen out of their city.

It was intense.

You know, a lot of French retailers and politicians were very upset about it.

Some department store workers held a strike outside or held a protest.

They went on strike for a day.

So even just the announcement that this was coming had caused a huge stir in Paris and in France.

The flood of cheap Chinese goods into Europe has been swift, and there is one very specific

reason these companies are suddenly so focused there. After the terrorists went into effect into the U.S., China needed new places to sell all that stuff.

It was no longer selling to the U.S., and Europe looked like the perfect place.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power.

I'm Ryan Knudsen.

It's Wednesday, January 7th.

Coming up on the show, how Europe replaced the U.S.

as China's new favorite customer.

Thank you. China's new favorite customer. 300 years of expertise in every twining sleep blend.

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