Fast fashion e-commerce startup Shein plans to raise £762m in funding
Chinese e-commerce retailer Shein is planning to raise £762 million ($1 billion) in funding as it continues its rapid growth and increases market share.
Bloomberg reported that Shein is in talks with investors including American growth equity firm General Atlantic to facilitate the funding, as it is circling an evaluation of £76 billion ($100 billion).
If it reaches the £76 billion valuation, Shein would become the third most valuable startup globally, behind ByteDance and SpaceX, according to Bloomberg.
The social-media savvy business was founded in 2008 by Chris Xu, an American citizen with a background in search optimisation. Shein's high-turnaround and trend-led business model has seen it rapidly grow internationally, with the US now its biggest market.
In October 2020 Euromonitor had already crowned the business as the world’s largest online-only fashion company, as measured by sales of the businesses' own brand. The company has also garnered criticism regarding its work ethics, with media outlets reporting that has previously copied existing designs and used tax loopholes to increase profits.
TheIndustry.fashion has reached out to Shein for comment.
