Speculation continues to build that Asos PLC (AIM:ASC) and Boohoo Group PLC (AIM:BOO)’s Chinese rival Shein is plotting a US$47bn IPO in New York, with several key appointments made in recent weeks.
The publicity-averse fast fashion group (which still attracts dozens of articles every month) is reported to have hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to advise on a flotation, and also recently appointed an ex-eBay executive as chief financial officer and a head of human resources from Adidas, according to updates on LinkedIn.
But Shein, which was founded by American-born entrepreneur Chris Xu and is based in China but focused exclusively overseas, has told media this week that it has no plans to go public “at the present time”.
Earlier this year, after losing out in the race to buy Topshop in the UK, the company’s muscular online marketing campaigning gained it the largest market share in US online fast-fashion.
Having reportedly doubled revenues for the past eight years to around US$10bn last year, Shein is the largest pure-play online fashion retailer in the world, according to Euromonitor, but some have been warning that it could face a data crackdown from Western governments.
