SHEIN Prepares for 50 Billion Pound London Stock Exchange IPO

SHEIN, the fast-fashion giant, is currently preparing to file for its London Stock Exchange initial public offering (IPO), and initial reports suggest that the float could be as high as 50 billion GBP ($63.7 billion).

According to Reuters, financial insiders are claiming that the initial filing can come as early as this week.

The company, which raised $66 billion last year in a fundraising round, began interacting with its financial and legal advisory teams in London early this year to investigate a listing on the London Stock Exchange, according to the outlet.

Following regulatory obstacles and opposition from U.S. politicians in its effort to go public in New York, the fast-fashion retailer intensified plans for its London IPO.

Senior British politicians, meanwhile, are also criticizing the fast-fashion giant’s eligibility for a London listing and demanding more investigation into the company. SHEIN has responded by stating that it is enhancing compliance and governance, though it did not make clear how exactly the company was doing so.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Chinese-founded company.

At the top of the year, SHEIN was revealed to be making more than $30 billion annually. With its astounding revenue, it even outperforms H&M and is on par with major worldwide retailers like Inditex, the parent company of Zara.

Thanks to its collaboration with Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands Group, SHEIN’s financial matters can be seen in broad daylight. Over the summer, the company bought approximately one-third of Sparc Group, which is a joint venture between Simon Property Group and Authentic. In return, Sparc took a minority position in SHEIN. Because of their collaboration, SHEIN has launched a co-branded apparel line with Forever 21 and organized pop-up events in the mall locations of the Forever 21 brand, which is owned by Authentic and operated by Sparc.

Although Salter compared the relationship between SHEIN and Authentic Brands Group to “dating,” it is clear that the two firms are still in the early stages of their alliance. Pop-up stores have proved to be profitable, and the Forever 21 by SHEIN line, while not very extensive, exhibits promise for cooperation.