Shein has quickly become one of the most popular fashion brands in the world. It has completely upended the industry by offering trendy clothing at affordable prices. Its fast-fashion style enables consumers to stay up to date with the latest fashion trends -- without breaking the bank.
Fast Fashion
The company has grown tremendously since its founding in 2008. Shein reportedly had $10 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, pushing it past several leading fashion retailers. Shein is still looking at a long growth runway ahead as it continues to take share in the fast-growing fast-fashion market.
With a reported valuation of $30 billion, Shein's growth potential has made it one of the world's most valuable start-ups. Given its growing popularity, it could be worth even more in the public markets.
Investors are eagerly awaiting its initial public offering (IPO), but things have been a bit shaky on that front as the company has struggled to secure a listing in the U.K. after filing there in 2024. In mid-2025, Shein filed for an IPO in Hong Kong, though it reportedly still hopes to gain approval from Chinese regulators to list in the U.K.
IPO
Here's a look at what you need to know about Shein, how to invest in its stock if it completes an IPO in the next year, and some alternatives to investing in the fast-fashion retailer.
Is Shein publicly traded?
Shein wasn't a publicly traded company as of mid-2025. It remained a privately held company owned by investors and its founder, Chinese billionaire Sky Xu.
When will Shein IPO?
Shein didn't have an IPO on the calendar as of mid-2025. However, the company hired investment banks Goldman Sachs (GS +0.87%), JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.15%), and Morgan Stanley (MS +0.75%) to lead its IPO in late 2023.
The fast-fashion retail group sought to go public sometime in 2024 and list on a major U.S. stock exchange. However, questions about its labor practices essentially buried its U.S. IPO. The company is now seeking to list in London or Hong Kong.
It could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year. The company had a private market valuation of over $60 billion based on a funding round in May 2023. Bloomberg reported in late 2023 that the company sought to go public at a target value of as much as $90 billion, which would have made it one of the highest-valued Chinese companies to go public in the U.S.
Most recently, however, Shein was facing pressure to drop its valuation to $30 billion as it sought a London listing.
How to buy Shein stock
You can't buy Shein stock yet because it hasn't completed its IPO. However, you can gain exposure to the fast-fashion trends driving its growth while you wait.
Here's a look at some Shein alternatives and how to buy these retail stocks.
2. Hennes & Mauritz
Hennes & Mauritz (HNNMY +1.33%), or H&M Group, is another large player in the fast-fashion market. The Swedish company owns several brands, including H&M, COS, and Weekday. The company is continuing its steady global expansion, opening its first physical and online stores in Brazil in 2025.
3. Simon Property Trust
Simon Property (SPG -0.63%) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns shopping malls. It also owns a stake in SPARC Group, a joint venture (JV) with Authentic Brands, which owns Forever 21, a brand with a small share of the fast-fashion market. Shein partnered with SPARC Group in 2023 to expand its market reach by selling in Forever 21's brick-and-mortar stores.
Brick-and-Mortar
Investors who want to buy one of these Shein alternatives can purchase shares in most brokerage accounts. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to invest in stocks like Shein.
- Open your brokerage account: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Is Shein profitable?
As a private company, Shein doesn't need to disclose its financial results. However, the company has revealed some financial data.
Shein reportedly had a net profit of $1 billion in 2024, down 40% from the year prior. But a surge in shoppers in early 2025 before announced tariffs were to kick in led to a first quarter revenue of $10 billion.
Should I invest in Shein?
Shein has disrupted the fashion industry over the past decade, producing on-trend clothing at bargain prices, making it one of the more popular clothing brands in the world. Its sales are strong, if not as phenomenal as a year prior, enabling it to deliver strong profits.
Analysts expect Shein to become an even more dominant player in the fast-fashion retail market in the coming years. They see it increasing its market share to almost 20% by 2027 as it takes share from rivals like Inditex's Zara.
The company is also finding new ways to expand. The online retailer bought a stake in Forever 21 to get in on the ground floor of selling in brick-and-mortar stores. It has also started to become a marketplace for third-party sellers and bought British women's fashion brand Missguided. Its expansion efforts should help drive additional sales and profit growth for the company.
However, Shein isn't the only way to play this trend. Investors could also consider buying other retail stocks benefitting from the same growth trends as Shein. They could turn out to be a better long-term investment, especially if the value-focused Shein goes public with a high price tag, as it would be harder for it to grow shareholder value from a high valuation.
ETFs with exposure to Shein
Because Shein hasn't completed an IPO yet, you can't passively invest in its stock through an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)
However, people interested in investing in the retail sector could consider an ETF focused on the space as an alternative way to gain exposure to the trends driving Shein's growth. Three top retail ETFs are:
- SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT +0.22%): This ETF focuses on retail stocks that trade on U.S. stock exchanges. It held 75 retail stocks in mid-2025. The fund has a 0.35% gross ETF expense ratio.
- Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY +0.91%): This ETF focuses on companies generating most of their revenue from their online retail businesses. The fund held 78 stocks in mid-2025. The ETF has a 0.65% expense ratio.
- VanEck Retail ETF (RTH +0.07%): This fund focuses on the world's 25 largest and most traded retailers. Its top holdings in mid-2025 were Amazon (AMZN +1.41%), Walmart (WMT -0.26%), and Costco (COST -0.28%). The fund has a 0.35% expense ratio.
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The bottom line on Shein
Shein has grown into one of the world's most popular fashion retailers. The company's popularity is driving surging sales and record profits. These features have investors eagerly awaiting its IPO. If its revenue and profits continue surging, Shein could richly reward investors in the coming years.
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