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Shein’s profits fell by more than a third last year, adding to the challenges of the fast fashion group before a long planned flotation which would be one of the largest on the London Stock Exchange this decade.
The net profit of the group based in Singapore decreased by almost $ 40% to $ 1 billion in 2024, as it underwent a last quarter of the last quarter and fought against competition from its TEMU rival, said two people who know The case at the Financial Times.
Thin -year sales increased by 19% to $ 38 billion, according to people, one of which added that the figures came from internal projections before the finalized accounts.
As a private company, Shein does not publish advice on profits, but the figures of 2024 were much lower than 4.8 billion dollars in net profit and $ 45 billion in sale that the company had planned for 2024 in A presentation to investors at the beginning of 2023, which was seen by theft.
Shein did not respond to a request for comments.
The lower profits highlight the challenges of Shein while he is trying to win regulatory approval for registration in London and navigating geopolitical changes that have exerted pressure on his evaluation.
Shein was evaluated at $ 66 billion in its last financing round in 2023, but some investors and other stakeholders put a first public offer in the first half of this year.
Shein, which sends cheap clothes made in Chinese factories directly to buyers around the world, previously told investors that a list could occur in April, according to people knowing discussions.
But an IPO could now be pushed into the second half of this year after the decision of US President Donald Trump to tighten a price exemption used by Shein when she sells to American customers, according to two people familiar with the process.
Trump has ended the minimis rule which allows packages of a value of less than $ 800 to import to the United States without incurring rights. He also hit Chinese products with an additional 10%rate.
The implementation of the minimis change is pending, but analysts expect it to increase higher prices for goods sold by Shein and Temu.
A delay in the IPO in the second half of the year would oblige the company to re -put new documents with the British regulators.
Shein lodged Confidential IPO documents last year with British regulators before the introduction of new rules for registering in the United Kingdom. However, a transition period to complete the IPO processes which launched before the launch of the new rules should end in July.
Firing would be a largely procedural step, three main business lawyers said in the United Kingdom, but the prospect that the company will miss the window to rely on its initial file underlines how its lists efforts have dragged.
Shein launched plans for the first time to make public in New York at the end of 2023, but pivoted the United Kingdom after being postponed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States. His announcement was bogged down in a context of uncertainty as to if he will receive the approval of regulators in London and Beijing.
The fall in profits in Shein comes as the group fights the TEMU competition, which has reproduced its model for the shipping of cheap Chinese manufacturing products to buyers abroad. TEMU conquered some of the suppliers of Shein in China while competition has also increased the air freight costs in Shein and marketing expenses.
At the end of 2023, Shein responded to Temu’s threat by diversifying briefly beyond fashion, which information previously reported eroding the profitability of Shein. Shein has since refocused his core business.
Shein has plowed money in lobbying efforts in Washington Western capitals in London, in particular the hiring of Trump’s loyalist, Kash Patel, to become a consultant for his parent company Elite Depot. Patel resigned as a consultant before his recent confirmation as director of the FBI, but has kept shares of the company, which are worth between $ 1 and $ 5 million.
Additional reports by Ivan Levingston
