The fashion, beauty and home brand Shein will jump to the parquet. The company has already confidentially requested its IPO in the United States, according to the Chinese press and confirmed by The Wall Street Journal, which will take place through a public offering (IPO). Specialized in the fast fashion segment, with short collections and continuous renewal, the debut is expected to arrive sometime in 2024.
The company founded in China in 2008, now based in Singapore, recently said that its target valuation for a potential listing would be $90 billion, about €82.2 billion, which is the highest it has achieved in a round. Of course, the last time it raised capital, in May, it was valued at 66 billion.
Shein, which sells online except for some specific experiences in the physical world, has carved out a niche in the market with low prices and deliveries to the customer's home, which has boosted its popularity in Europe and the US, where the low cost of your products and the shipping method allows you to avoid certain tariffs. According to Bloomberg, its estimated sales in the US exceed those of Zara and H
Strong among young consumers and on social networks, in 2022 it had a turnover of 23,000 million dollars -21,000 million euros- and earned 800 million net -730 million euros-. Until September the numbers are at their highest, says The Wall Street Journal.
The company is backed by major investors including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, venture capital group Sequoia China and private equity group General Atlantic. On the road to success it has been accused of forced labor, lack of transparency in production, inciting excessive consumption and criticized for its environmental impact. Shein manufactures in China, Brazil, Türkiye and India.
If it goes ahead, the operation would be a record. The Chinese company with the largest capitalization that has gone public in the United States to date is the passenger transport giant Didi Global, a competitor of Uber, which debuted in 2021 with a valuation of 68 billion dollars -62 billion euros-.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have been hired as lead underwriters for the public offering. "It doesn't seem like the most opportune time for Shein to go public, but if they need capital, the markets are open. The key question will be whether they can keep up or continue gaining market share in the future," analyzed Jason Benowitz, CI Roosevelt manager.
The IPO will test the market's interest, after recent months saw the jumps of the German sandal manufacturer Birkenstock, the grocery delivery application Instacart and the chip designer Arm Holdings, with doubts in the days following the debut.
