👉 Background: Uniqlo is the Japanese streetwear brand with a whopping 2,488 stores worldwide. They're known for their affordable winter wear but since April last year, they're become even more famous for their viral shoulder bag, which had sold out seven times.

👉 What happened: The shoulder bag has been named the 'Mary Poppins bag' because it can apparently fit just about anything. But now, Uniqlo is taking legal action against Shein who copied the bag and sold it for one third of the price. Uniqlo wants Shein to immediately stop selling the dupes and pay compensation for the damages to their brand.

👉 What else: This certainly isn't Shein's first copycat-rodeo; last year, H&M filed a copyright lawsuit against Shein for stolen designs, as well as at least three other independent designers.

What's the key learning?

💡The saying, “any publicity is good publicity” doesn’t always hold, especially if you’re looking to sell shares publicly soon.

💡The period leading up to an IPO is critical for any company because that's when investors are evaluating the prospects of the company. So, any negative press which brings into question the company's management and operations is a red flag for potential investors.

💡While Shein continues to grow rapidly, they'll also need to prove that they can be a reliable investment for new investors, and not a walking-talking-designing red flag.

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