As competition intensifies with other Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms entering the fray, SHEIN, the popular Chinese fast fashion online retailer, has found itself significantly impacted. According to a report by American business media outlet The Information, SHEIN’s revenue for the first half of this year reached $18 billion, marking a slowdown in year-over-year growth to 23%, a sharp decline from the 40% growth seen during the same period last year. Profits have also taken a substantial hit, plummeting by 70% to $400 million in the same timeframe.
In preparation for its initial public offering (IPO) in London, SHEIN has disclosed its latest financial figures to potential investors, as reported by informed sources.
Analysts attribute SHEIN’s declining revenue growth and profit downturn largely to fierce competition from Temu, a platform owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. Like SHEIN, Temu focuses on providing cost-effective products and has rapidly gained traction in international markets over the past two years. Launched in July 2022, Temu made its debut in the U.S. by September of the same year and has since expanded into Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Recent research forecasts that Temu’s Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) will reach $54 billion in 2024.
Coresight Research estimates that SHEIN’s global sales will total $32.2 billion in 2023, potentially reaching $50 billion by year-end. For context, Zara’s parent company, Inditex, is projected to have sales of $39.39 billion in 2023.
SHEIN’s journey toward going public has been anything but straightforward. Initially aiming for a U.S. IPO, the company pivoted to submit its IPO application to British market regulators in early June after facing opposition from certain U.S. political figures. Bloomberg reported that SHEIN was valued at $66 billion in its most recent funding round.
