Shein was rated the most successful start-up in the last ten years, based on its valuation, public perception, growth score and number of employees.

Start-ups were given a rating out of 100, with Shein topping the list with a score of 87.12.

Shein has more than 100,000 employees and a value of $66bn, which was the third highest of any start-up in the study. It was ranked in the top three for all of Vention’s categories.

The fashion retailer is being searched for 277 times more than Tiktok owner ByteDance, which ranked second on Vention’s list.

Most of the other companies ranked in the top ten start-ups list were technology and finance-based such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI which ranked third behind Shein and ByteDance.

Vention attributed the success of the top three firms to a “combination of innovative models, strategic partnerships and cutting-edge technology”.

Vention’s CMO Marc Karasu commented: “Over the past decade, many start-up websites and apps have emerged as highly successful in profitability and worldwide dominance. The top three in the study, Shein, Bytedance and OpenAI, have achieved significant success as start-ups, which could be due to a combination of innovative business models, strategic partnerships, and cutting-edge technology.”

The news comes as Shein is said to be diversifying its offerings from fashion and accessories to more consumer sectors such as home, beauty and toys and considering a public listing in the UK.