As Shein prepares to go public in Hong Kong for $27 billion — roughly a fourth of its valuation four years ago — the Chinese fast-fashion giant is plotting an ambitious comeback through stepped-up dealmaking.
Shein is pursuing what is internally described as a plan to become the “Amazon Web Services of the fashion industry,” Bloomberg reported, by using its large cash reserves to acquire more prominent Western brands like Everlane, which it can plug into its supply chains. That plan is likely to face intense headwinds from the get-go, a Shanghai-based expert said:
Simultaneously one of its “greatest competitive advantages and one of its largest strategic concentration risks,” Shein’s China supply chains will inevitably draw scrutiny for their labor and sustainability practices.