Shein rejects Amazon ‘clone’ talk as it prepares for U.S. listing

Chinese-founded online retail giant Shein is not positioning itself as an Amazon “clone,” the company told CNBC, as it prepares for a U.S. public listing later this year.

The e-commerce company’s product categories are likely to “grow over time,” as the business entrenches itself deeper into the U.S., Peter Pernot-Day, head of strategic communications, U.K. and U.S., said. But that expansion will vary from market to market, and skew heavily toward Generation Z — born between the late 1990s and early 2000s — and younger Millennial consumers, who were born between the early 1980s and late 1990s.

“I don’t see us an an Amazon clone per se,” Pernot-Day said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Singapore-headquartered fashion brand has already ventured into product lines as diverse as electronics, sports and home appliances, after winning over millions of U.S. shoppers during the pandemic with its low-cost and seemingly limitless clothing lines.

It is now forecast to supersede high street rivals H&M and Zara owner Inditex, with estimated revenues of $24 billion in the first nine months of 2023, according to tech publication The Information.

“One of the things we are very good at is measuring and responding to customer demand and that flexibility allows us to tailor our offering to different geographies,” Pernot-Day said.

“So, product categories vary across these markets. But the core point is that being receptive and responsive to Generation Z, younger Millennial shoppers, is something that leads to growth,” he added.

The expansion comes as competition mounts in the U.S. e-commerce market ahead of Shein’s hotly watched 2024 initial public offering (IPO).

The listing is expected to fetch the company a valuation of $90 billion, though reports on Thursday suggested that current investors — spooked by regulator scrutiny and growing competition — are selling shares that would value the business as low as $45 billion. A company…