Fast-fashion retailer Shein has a lot of work to do to convince skeptics that the runway is clear for it to launch an initial public offering next year.
The Singapore-headquartered company filed confidentially for a listing in New York, a person familiar with the matter has said, weeks after it was reported that it could seek a valuation of as much as $90 billion in a first-time share sale. If it sold a 10% stake, raising about $9 billion at that valuation, it would be the fifth largest consumer company IPO of all time, just behind Porsche AG’s $9.1 billion 2021 listing, calculations show.
To achieve that milestone, Shein will have to do a historic job of persuading skeptical investors, politicians and regulators that the controversies surrounding it aren’t an obstacle to its growth.