Chinese fast fashion giant Shein is reportedly planning to do an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. soon — possibly by 2024, according to media reports Thursday (July 14).
That comes as there’s been growing concerns about environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities, which could create obstacles, CNBC reported.
Shein has gotten some criticism for its inexpensive product line, which was built on a fast and prolific production chain — with a probe by Public Eye, a Swiss watchdog group, saying some manufacturers for the company have put employees in dangerous conditions, such as 75-hour work weeks.
The company’s critics still have a problem with Shein garments’ short-term wearability, though Shein is not the only fast fashion retailer to face these critiques. In 2019, a World Bank report indicated that the annual number of new garments produced had doubled from the 50 million that were made in 2000.
The concerns haven’t dissuaded everyone — some, like Sequoia Capital China, IDG Capital and Tiger Global Management, are still on board, per the report. However, the company’s recent executive moves seem to be focusing on other things like boosting their ESG appearance as they prepare to go public.
In April, the company was reported to be looking at a funding round that would value the company at $100 billion, PYMNTS reported at the time.
Read more: Chinese eCommerce Startup Shein Raising Funds at $100B Value
The retailer had been discussing things with possible investors like General Atlantic about raising roughly $1 billion. Shein had been talking about its goals since last year, though at that time it didn’t have any plans for an IPO.
The success of the company has come through numerous factors, including supply-chain savvy, data-driven clothes design and the tax loopholes it uses in the U.S. and China, which happened during a trade war.
Last year, Shein also became bigger than Amazon in terms of downloads of shopping apps in U.S. stores.
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