Elusive Shein founder holds pre-IPO investor meetings in London

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Shein’s reclusive Chinese billionaire founder traveled to Britain to meet with investors in anticipation of a possible listing of the fast-fashion group on the London Stock Exchange, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.

Sky Xu’s presence underscores Shein’s hopes of receiving the necessary regulatory approvals in China and the UK to move forward with a London listing.

Xu was accompanied by his finance chief and bankers to one of the meetings, said a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. Discussions focused on Shein’s growth prospects rather than the listing process, they added.

The meetings were informal and not a formal investor roadshow, the second person said. They added that if Shein were to get the green light for a UK IPO, a listing would be more likely early next year than this year.

The Singaporean entrepreneur has never given a media interview and speaks broken English. He will also travel to the US for meetings, one of the people said. Meanwhile, US executive chairman Donald Tang, a former investment banker and media mogul, has become the face and most visible leader of the company since joining in 2022.

The Chinese-founded group, valued at $66 billion during its latest funding round, has disrupted the apparel industry with its model of delivering cheap clothes directly from factories in China to buyers in the West. However, it has also faced allegations of forced labor in its cotton supply chain and lax environmental standards, both of which it denies.

The company launched its plan for an IPO late last year, initially targeting New York but switching to London after being rejected by US regulators.

Shein, now based in Singapore, is still waiting for Chinese regulators to give approval to list overseas, unhappy with the company’s move to sever ties with China, where it has the vast majority of its manufacturing and operational staff. according to people familiar with the matter.

Shein declined to comment.

Over the summer, the group filed confidential documents with Britain’s financial regulator for a listing and is subject to a review.

Xu, who changed his English name from Chris to Sky, pranks employees so evasively that they don’t recognize him in the office, according to several people who have worked with him in recent years.

He was born in Zibo, a manufacturing town in China’s Shandong Province, where his parents were state-owned factory workers. His mother was a garment worker, which helped him later when he teamed up with garment factory workers to establish Shein’s supply chains.

Additional reporting by Ivan Levingston and Emma Dunkley