At $100B, This Chinese Fashion E-Tailer Could Become The Most Valued Startup After TikTok Parent, SpaceX

Chinese online fast-fashion retailer SHEIN is mulling a $1 billion funding that could shoot its valuation past the owners of H&M, Uniqlo FRCOY, and Zara. 

What Happened: According to a Bloomberg report, the e-tailer is in talks with potential investors, including General Atlantic, and successful funding could value the company at about $100 billion. 

Why It Matters: If it successfully achieves that mark, the e-tailer would be placed as the third most valuable startup globally, after ByteDance Ltd. and Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk's SpaceX, according to the report. 

SHEIN is known for its affordably priced apparel, beauty and lifestyle products and churns out over 6,000 new items daily in around 195 countries.

Early Winner: SHEIN's business model benefitted from the China–United States trade war when increased tariffs substantially affected the Chinese bulk garment exports. Its express delivery of products from its Chinese warehouse to U.S. consumers seized the opportunity. 

SHEIN saw its sales more than triple to $10 billion in 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers increasingly took to online shopping amid lockdowns. 

Photo courtesy: SHEIN app