Shein’s revenue is ‘a lot more’ than $30 billion annually: exec

ORLANDO, Fla. — Little is known about how much revenue Shein draws or just how profitable it is.

But the fast fashion company’s sales are “a lot more” than the $30 billion that it reportedly brings in annually, one of the retailer’s key partners said Monday.

“Shein is the fastest growing fashion retailer in the world, if not the biggest fashion retailer in the world,” Jamie Salter, the founder and CEO of privately-owned brand management firm Authentic Brands Group, said during a fireside chat at the ICR Conference in Orlando.

“There’s talks that they do 30 billion, do they do 40 billion? Do they do 35 billion? I’m not going to tell you exactly what they do, but I can tell you they do a lot more than 30 billion dollars,” Salter continued in an apparent reference to Shein’s annual sales. 

As a private company, Shein does not disclose its financials. It may soon have to after the retailer confidentially filed to go public in the U.S., following torrid growth and months of efforts to resolve a range of concerns lawmakers had about its business practices.

However, Salter is familiar with Shein’s financials because of a partnership he inked with the company last summer. As part of the deal, Shein acquired about a third of Sparc Group, a joint venture that includes Authentic and Simon Property Group. Sparc took a minority stake in Shein.

Sparc is the operator of Forever 21, which Authentic owns. As part of the partnership, Shein has begun selling a co-branded clothing line with Forever 21 and hosting pop-up events at the retailer’s many mall stores. 

Very little is known about Shein’s financials, but bits and pieces have leaked to the press in recent years as the retailer has geared up for an initial public offering. The…