Insiders at the controversial Chinese fashion company SHEIN say the company’s profits doubled last year, reaching a new high of 2 billion USD.
Impressively, this figure not only far surpasses its previous year’s profits, but also its net income for that year, which stood at 700 million USD. Its biggest rival Zara is still leaps and bounds ahead at around 5.8 billion USD in net profit for 2023.
The fast fashion juggernaut is set to go public on either the New York or London stock exchange any day now. The initial public offering is set to be the biggest this year, and possibly even the biggest in several years, though its current valuation is not known. Most recently, it was valued at around 60 billion USD.
SHEIN filed for an IPO in the US at the end of last year, but reportedly has heard no word yet from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US’s financial regulator. SHEIN’s alleged links to forced labour in Xinjiang are currently the biggest concern for the SEC, as the US government banned import of Xinjiang cotton under the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act in 2022.
As a result of the stalled IPO, SHEIN has been courting the London Stock Exchange as a potential alternative. The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, would welcome the move but is facing pressure to shun the company over its alleged supply chain abuses.
“It’s a real concern that the Chancellor is proposing to roll out the red carpet to help a fast-fashion behemoth which our American allies have red-flagged for using cotton grown in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region”, said Liam Bryne, chair of the Commons Business and Trade Committee.
It also waiting on approval from Beijing, which now keeps a close eye on any domestic companies seeking overseas IPOs, especially those founded in China but later reincorporated overseas.
