Fast fashion retailer Shein has abandoned plans to open a UK warehouse as doubts gather over its planned listing on the London Stock Exchange this year.
Reuters
The China-founded digital retailer has ended a search for space in the Midlands and confirmed there were now “no plans” to open a warehouse in Britain, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Shein representative had been viewing potential warehouses across the East Midlands, including Derby, Daventry, Coventry and Castle Donington, with the company believed to have been considering sites as large as 600,000 sq ft.
The search underpinned Shein’s plan for a £50 billion float in London in the first half of this year, in what would be one of the UK’s largest listings. However, that listing’s now in the balance after a threatened crackdown on Shein’s business model in Europe and the US, and amid criticism from MPs about the lack of transparency around its supply chain, the report said.
Yet the connection to recent developments may be an illusion. Insiders told the newspaper that the decision to pause the warehouse search had been made in the middle of last year and said it was part of a broader review into how much warehouse capacity Shein needed in Europe.
A spokesman for Shein said: “To support the growth of the business, Shein constantly explores warehousing locations worldwide. However, as Shein has no immediate need for a warehouse in the UK, there are no plans to have one.”
More recent setbacks for the business include Donald Trump’s move to close tax loopholes, central to the fashion company’s business model. The US president said he would remove the de minimis exemption for small packages worth less than $800 (£645) from China, although later suggested these plans had been delayed until proper systems are in place to process packages.
Last week, reports also suggested Shein was preparing to cut its valuation to around £40 billion, from an earlier £50 billion.
