Chinese fashion retail giant Shein drops valuation by 30% as it seeks new funding

Chinese fast fashion retailer, Shein is in talks to raise up to $3 billion, at a reduced valuation of $64 billion, down from the $100 billion the company was reportedly valued at in a funding round last year, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The company is reportedly seeking to close a new fundraising round from existing investors including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, venture capital group Sequoia China and private equity group General Atlantic, the report added.

Known for jaw-dropping outfit prices and savvy TikTok marketing, the e-commerce platform raked in around 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) in revenue in 2021 and was valued at $50 billion earlier that year. However this recent plunge is over a 30% markdown from its $100 billion valuation.

According to the Financial Times report, Shein is still planning to forge ahead with its IPO, which could launch as early as this year.

Shein's drawdown is a reflection of the global economic downturn and geopolitical tensions in the past year that impacted consumer spending and resulted in many companies in the e-commerce space losing a sizeable chunk of their valuation.

Sea, which operates the Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce giant Shopee, lost over 80% of its market cap since November 2021, the company cut roughly 7,000 jobs in the following months to offset losses. Pinduoduo, the marketplace, has also seen its market cap plunge to around $100 billion from a peak of $240 billion in February 2021.