Fast fashion e-tailer Shein has topped a new ranking by money.co.uk as the most popular fashion brand in almost every country in the world.

As a new entry to the list, the controversial contender overtook Zara for the top spot, according to data collected by the financial advisory firm over the course of the last 12 months.

The research revealed that the Chinese company was the most searched brand on Google in a total of 113 countries, including Australia, France and Ireland.

The move put Zara into second place, with the Spanish retailer proving most popular within 26 countries, covering Greece, Japan and Turkey, as well as its home country Spain.

Meanwhile, Zalando maintained its position as the third-most-popular fashion brand, followed by Nike, which dropped two positions compared to 2021, topping the list for 10 countries.

Throughout Europe, Zara, Shein and Zalando took up much of the top spots, however, Next came out ahead in the UK, contrasting the rest of the region.

Next ahead in UK while Macy’s leads in US

In North and Central America, Shein led the way in most countries, including in Mexico and Jamaica.

Meanwhile, for the US, department store chain Macy’s took the top spot, while in Canada, sportswear brand Lululemon came in first.

In fact, leading sports brands took a prominent role in the list. Following Nike, Adidas was the number one brand for eight countries, while Puma came out on top in India as a new entry.

For luxury brands, the sector was notably slimmer than others, however some did manage to snap up the top spot in a handful of markets.

Dior moved up one position from last year, placing in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, while Chanel dropped two places with two countries.

Hugo Boss and Michael Kors were new entries to the list, with the former securing its place in Burkina Faso and the latter in Kazakhstan.