- Mail on Sunday recently revealed the British Fashion Council’s concerns about the float
Shein may scrap its planned £50bn London float amid growing unease in Beijing
Shein could scrap its planned £50bn London IPO amid growing disquiet in Beijing over the way the fast fashion retailer is portrayed in the UK.
A series of criticisms directed at Shein have irritated some in the upper levels of the Chinese government, according to senior sources in the city.
The attacks come from politicians, the press, other retailers and investors.
The Mail on Sunday recently revealed the British Fashion Council’s concerns about the float, the largest planned worldwide this year.
The influential trade body, whose members include Mulberry and Jimmy Choo, said the listing was a “major concern” for the industry and that “questions remain” about its trading practices.
A backlash from the American equivalent of the British Fashion Council, the National Retail Federation, was one of the reasons Shein abandoned its original plans to go public in New York.
Shein has been criticized for using suppliers who exploit low-paid garment workers to sell its clothes at bargain prices.
The group is based in Singapore, but its cheap, fast fashion is manufactured in China.
As a result, it needs approval from Beijing regulators to list its shares in London.
They are believed to have put up barriers to Shein’s plans to float in New York amid worsening diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
Beijing authorities could now pressure Shein to list in Hong Kong instead of London, a source added.
Shein, founded in Nanjing in 2008, has tried to distance itself from its ties to China, but the threat to remove the float from London suggests Beijing is still pulling its strings.
The United Kingdom was Shein’s second choice and the listing would provide a big boost to the London Stock Exchange, which has grappled with an exodus of companies and a dearth of blockbuster listings. Shein hired top PR firms and joined the British Retail Consortium to win over the business community.
President Donald Tang has also met Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and discussed a list with the Labor Party in recent weeks.
Shein declined to comment.