Shein is set to make its stock market debut in Hong Kong on September 1 with a valuation of $27billion (£19.8billion), following a failed London listing.
The valuation pales in comparison to the $100billion the online fashion firm reached after a private fundraising round in 2022. In the years since, the company has seen weaker sales growth and higher costs.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'The world has changed since then. Four years ago Shein was still riding the e-commerce boom seen since the pandemic but inflationary pressures, shifting consumer habits and tariffs have conspired to knock the business off course.'
In a filing on Monday, Shein said it would offer nearly 280 million shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50 each. At the top of the range, the share sale would raise $1.77billion for the fast-fashion company and give it a market valuation of $26.8billion.
Shein's initial public offering is being backed by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan. The company will make its highly anticipated debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange after efforts to go public since 2023.
Long road to a listing
Chinese regulators approved Shein's application to list in Hong Kong in July, giving the green light to an IPO that has been long in the making.
The company's previous attempts to list in London and New York were thwarted by opposition from politicians and regulators amid scrutiny of its Chinese supply chain. Shein's campaign for a listing on the London stock market ran aground amid human rights abuse allegations in its supply chain.
Campaigners have made allegations of slave labour in the Xinjiang region of China. Beijing has denied any abuses and Shein has said it has 'zero tolerance' to abuse in its supply chain.
Quarterly loss and tariff pressure
In July, Shein said it had swung to a quarterly loss as its sales slowed after Donald Trump removed an import duty waiver on small packages called the de minimis exemption.
The business said it lost $99million in the first three months of the year, against a net income of $395million a year earlier.
The first-quarter figures also partly reflected a paper loss of $328million due to an accounting change for special investor shares. The shares can be turned into ordinary stock later, and their value can change before a listing.
Growing customer base
As of the end of March 2026, Shein had 281million active customers, an increase of more than 16 per cent on a year earlier.
Since it was founded in 2008, Shein has become one of the world's largest fast-fashion retailers, with customers in more than 150 countries. In the UK, retailers including Asos, Boohoo and Primark have suffered as the Chinese rival became the go-to place for cheap clothes.
What comes next
Mould said: 'Appropriately enough for a business which made its name selling clothes at discount prices, Shein looks set for a cut-price IPO.'
He added: 'Shein still has strengths as a retail business, which include identifying and latching on to emerging trends at pace, significant flexibility in its supply chain and a large global customer base. There are also suggestions it might move into other product categories beyond just clothing. But it will start life as a public company with plenty to prove.'
