Shein 2024-2026: New York, London, Hong Kong — the IPO journey of a Chinese fast-fashion giant

The Shein business model and 2020-2022 ascent

Shein was founded in 2008 by Chris Xu (Xu Yangtian). The business model is ultra-fast-fashion direct-to-consumer at unprecedented price points and SKU velocity. The company uses a network of Chinese manufacturers to produce thousands of new SKUs per day, ships globally direct-to-consumer (largely from China), and aggressively uses social-media advertising and influencer marketing. By the 2020-2022 period Shein had become one of the largest fast-fashion companies in the world by revenue, with the model representing a substantial threat to established fast-fashion (Zara, H&M) and to broader apparel retail.

In 2022, secondary-market transactions valued Shein at approximately $100 billion — making it one of the most-valuable private companies globally. The valuation reflected enthusiasm about the business model's growth trajectory and the apparent durability of the cost advantage versus established fast-fashion competitors. The IPO conversation had been active since 2022.

The New York IPO attempt (2023-2024) and London pivot

Shein had targeted a New York IPO through 2022-2023. The effort stalled in 2023-2024 amid significant US congressional pushback. Members of Congress raised concerns about Chinese-origin parent ownership, Xinjiang sourcing and forced-labor compliance, environmental impact of the fast-fashion model, and broader trade policy. The Trump administration's 2024 election win and subsequent April 2025 executive order ending the de minimis exemption for Chinese packages (which had been important to Shein's cost structure) added structural pressure.

Shein pivoted to a London IPO and filed with the FCA in June 2024. The FCA approved the listing application. The CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission) was required to approve the listing for a company with significant Chinese operations even if listed in London; CSRC approval did not come. After more than a year of attempted progress on London, Shein abandoned the London IPO in 2025-2026 and pivoted to Hong Kong as the likely exchange.

The 2024 valuation reset and competitive pressure

By 2024 Shein's valuation had reset from the 2022 peak of approximately $100 billion to approximately $45 billion — a 55 percent decline. The reset reflected multiple pressures. Revenue grew 19 percent to approximately $38 billion in 2024 but net profit dropped 40 percent to approximately $1 billion. The margin compression came from rising customer-acquisition costs, increased compliance and tariff exposure, and competitive pressure from Temu (PDD Holdings' US-facing ultra-low-cost-fashion product).

The April 2025 executive order ending the de minimis exemption was particularly significant. The exemption had allowed packages valued under $800 to enter the US without tariff. Shein's direct-from-China shipping model had been built around this exemption; the change forced Shein to raise prices for US customers starting late April 2025. Temu faced the same pressure. The cost structure underlying the original Shein valuation thesis no longer held the same way.

How RGM thinks about geopolitical IPO risk

When clients ask about geopolitical risk in IPO planning, the Shein case is the defining current example of how Chinese-origin exposure can override commercial scale in determining IPO outcomes. Three structural lessons. First, the IPO market is downstream of national-security and trade policy in a way that pure-commercial diligence does not capture. US congressional pushback was the binding constraint on the New York IPO regardless of Shein's underlying revenue growth. Second, the regulator-of-record matters more than the listing-exchange in determining timing — FCA approval did not produce a London IPO because CSRC approval was also required. Third, tariff exposure can compound IPO pressure: Trump-era de minimis changes hit Shein's cost structure at the same time as the IPO-marketing was supposed to be selling a stable-margin growth story.

The pattern is hard to copy or avoid for companies with comparable geopolitical exposure. We tell clients with significant Chinese operations to plan for multi-year IPO timelines with explicit scenario analysis for regulatory blocks across multiple exchanges. Shein's eventual Hong Kong outcome (if it happens) would be a 4-plus-year journey from the original New York intent — longer than most companies budget for. The structural lesson is that the global IPO market is becoming more nationally fragmented, with cross-border listings facing escalating regulatory friction.

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