The possible listing of the Shein company is overshadowed by accusations of unethical business practices.
Shein, a Chinese ultra-fast fashion store, is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange. The listing is estimated to increase the company’s value to approximately 66 billion dollars, making it more valuable than, for example, Inditex’s Zara brand.
British According to the BBC the company has filed an application with the British Financial Services Authority. The company itself has not commented on the claims about the listing.
Shein is a Chinese online clothing store headquartered in Singapore today.
According to the news agency Reuters, Sheinin previously tried to list on the stock exchange in the United States.
However, the US authority did not qualify the company for the stock exchange due to its China connections and unethical business practices.
US authorities are currently investigating claims that Shein used Uyghur forced labor to make his clothes.
The online store preferred by the youth
Shein was founded in 2008 and has grown rapidly, especially due to the widespread marketing of products by ordinary consumers on social media services such as Tiktok.
Shein brings thousands of cheap fashion products to the market every day. The company has gained popularity especially among young people.
American Business Insider according to Shein is currently the world’s largest online-only clothing store and has overtaken Zara and H&M in online sales.
Public Eye, a Swiss non-governmental organization aiming at sustainable development, got access through its Chinese and Hong Kong connections to secretly investigate the conditions of the factories used by Shein in China in 2021.
According to the report, there were serious deficiencies in the working conditions at Shein’s factories. There were no safety arrangements in the investigated factories and the workers’ working hours were unreasonably long.
The company promised to improve the working conditions in its factories, but According to the BBC in May, Shein’s Chinese employees were still working 75-hour weeks.