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Shein agrees to pay $100 million to settle US FTC probe into delivery complaints, Reuters reports
The payment, equal to 44% of Shein's second-quarter profit, resolves a risk flagged in its Hong Kong listing documents, with shares 22% below their September debut price.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Shein, the fast-fashion group founded in China and headquartered in Singapore, has agreed to pay $100 million to resolve a US Federal Trade Commission investigation into delivery delays and other customer complaints, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a source with direct knowledge. Shein told Reuters it had reached a "constructive outcome" with the regulator and would share more details soon. An FTC spokesperson declined to comment.
The sum equals 44% of Shein's second-quarter profit. FTC records reviewed by Reuters showed more than 12,000 consumer complaints covering over $11 million of purchases between January 2020 and June 2026, some from shoppers who said parcels marked as delivered never arrived. Reuters said it could not independently verify the complaints or whether they were resolved.
Shein disclosed the probe in July in filings for its Hong Kong listing, warning that it could involve significant monetary payments. Those filings showed a net loss of about $99 million for the three months to March 31, against net income of $395 million a year earlier, mainly because of fair value losses on convertible preferred shares. US net revenue fell year on year after the 2025 removal of the de minimis duty exemption, and Shein said it had passed most of its added tariff costs to US customers through price rises since May 2025.
Why it matters: the payment dwarfs earlier FTC shipping cases against online apparel sellers, including $9.3 million from Fashion Nova in 2020 and $1.95 million from Crocs-owned Hey Dude in 2023, and it settles one of the risks named in Shein's prospectus. Other pressure remains for holders of the stock, which trades 22% below its September 1 listing price: the European Commission is still investigating illegal products on Shein's marketplace, EU fees on e-commerce parcels have hurt its European business, France's data protection authority fined it €150 million last year, and Jefferies data show its app downloads across 10 markets fell 42% in September from a year earlier. Investors should watch for the formal terms from Shein and the FTC.