Fast fashion group Shein’s profits will become public knowledge in future, whether it lists in London or New York, but for now, we have to rely on secondhand information.

That info — about its 2023 results — comes from The Financial Times, which cited “a financing document” it had seen and “four people close to the company”. And the headline news? The company more than doubled its profits in 2023.

It made more that $2 billion in profits from around $45 billion in gross merchandise value online last year. The China-founded but now Singapore-based business had recorded net income of $700 million in 2022 and $1.1 billion in 2021.

To compare that to the world’s two biggest fashion retailers, H&M’s profits were $820 million and Inditex’s were $5.8 billion in their latest financial years from their omnichannel operations.

The news comes as Shein awaits regulatory approval on its share listing, with the FT again citing people familiar with the situation to say that the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Cyberspace Administration of China could approve the share sale “in the coming weeks”. 

China’s view is key to the business. Despite being headquartered in Singapore, China remains the base for much of its business and it had more than 10,000 employees there just over a year ago, with only 200 in Singapore.

There’s still no news on where the initial public offering (IPO) will happen with New York being Shein’s first choice but London seen as a back-up option given the unfavourable atmosphere for Chinese firms listing in the US.