Shein completes the latest round of financing of 2 billion US dollars

The latest report from the "Wall Street Journal" pointed out that China's cross-border fast fashion e-commerce company Shein has completed the latest round of financing of 2 billion US dollars, with a valuation of about 66 billion US dollars, which is about a third less than the 100 billion US dollar valuation announced a year ago.

The latest round of financing was co-led by Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic and UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic both participated in Shein's previous rounds of financing. The report also pointed out that investors who participated in the previous rounds received more Shein shares to maintain the size of their holdings.

The source of the "Wall Street Journal" pointed out that Shein's net profit in 2022 was US$800 million and sales reached US$23 billion, approaching the other two fast fashion giants: H&M Group and Zara parent company Inditex Group. The source also noted that Shein is targeting a 40 percent increase in sales this year. The company also expects that its GMV will reach US$80.6 billion by 2025, an increase of 174% over 2022, and its profit target is set at an astonishing US$7.5 billion.

During the fundraising, Shein hired London-based consultancy ERM to conduct an independent review and due diligence of its environmental, social and governance performance to reassure investors, sources said. Last month, Shein also said it would invest US$70 million over the next five years to help manufacturers upgrade facilities and improve working conditions for workers. In addition, Shein is also promoting the diversification of supply chains, including building local supply chains in Brazil, Turkey and other countries.

In the next few years, the company will invest 750 million reais (approximately 150 million US dollars) in Brazil, and cooperate with thousands of local textile manufacturers to build a localized production network. At the same time, it also announced that it will cooperate with 2,000 local manufacturers in Brazil to provide a market platform for local merchants and their products.

Founded by Xu Yangtian in 2008 and headquartered in Nanjing, Shein is a cross-border B2C fast fashion e-commerce company. It uses internet thinking to do clothing business. It mainly sells clothing, accessories, shoes, luggage and other products to overseas consumer markets such as Europe, US, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Its business scope covers 220 countries and regions.