The Guardian-Chinese fashion giant Shein has filed paperwork to float on US stock market reports
November 28, 2023 2 min 357 words
时尚电商巨头Shein据称已提交文件，计划在美国上市。这一消息引起广泛关注，预计成为多年来最大规模的首次公开募股。Shein在中国利用小批量制造商网络和庞大的在线广告存在，迅速崛起成为全球快时尚的领导者。有消息称，摩根大通、摩根斯坦利和高盛已被聘为承销商。该公司曾在2022年4月筹资轮中估值达到1000亿美元，但在今年5月降至60亿美元左右。尽管曾因在工厂中被指控存在劣质工作条件、涉嫌侵犯独立艺术家设计的版权以及对环境的快时尚影响受到批评，但Shein仍然力争在上市后实现800-900亿美元的估值。这个动向引起矛盾情感，一方面是中国企业登陆美国股市的雄心壮志，另一方面是公司在多个方面的争议。这一次上市将成为关注焦点，引发对公司治理和行业责任的更深层次讨论。
Fast fashion giant Shein has reportedly lodged confidential paperwork with US securities regulators, informing them of an intention to go public in the US.
The listing would likely be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in years.
Shein is one of the global leaders of fast fashion e-commerce, harnessing a network of small-shipment manufacturers in China, and a massive online advertising presence.
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have reportedly been hired as underwriters for the move, according to unnamed sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times and Reuters.
The news of the filing follows reports and rumours from at least the middle of last year that the company intended to go public in the US in 2024.
Shein, a mass market online clothing retailer, was founded in China by entrepreneur Chris Xu, but is now headquartered in Singapore. Within a decade it reached a valuation of $100bn at an April 2022 fundraising round, making it the third most valuable start-up in the world.
By May this year the company’s value had dropped to a little more than $60bn but if it goes ahead with the IPO it is still expected to become the most valuable China-founded company to go public in the US since ride-hailing giant Didi Global’s debut in 2021 at $68bn valuation.
The company has reportedly told investors it hopes to receive a valuation of $80-90bn, Bloomberg reported last month.
In recent years Shein has expanded manufacturing into Brazil and Turkey, and distribution processes into the US, Europe and Canada. However, the company has come under criticism for things such as allegedly poor working conditions in factories, alleged copyright infringement on independent artists’ designs, along with criticism of fast fashion’s impact on the environment. Shein has denied the accusations.
Earlier this year Shein was accused, alongside its rival Temu, by a US house committee report of “building empires” by using legislative loopholes to “dodge US import taxes and sanctions checks”.
Shein declined to comment on the reports.
Reuters contributed to this report