In America, where we tend to glorify successful individuals who turn ideas into multimillion-dollar companies, it’s strange to think of a CEO – especially one at the head of a giant company like Shein – is not recognized by his own employees.
And yet, that is clearly the case for Shein’s 40-year-old CEO Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu or Sky Xu, who has largely stayed out of the public spotlight including interviews and conferences. proposal — but the secrecy surrounding him was even considered unusual. in China.
Shein has never posted any photos of Xu, South China Morning Post reportedeven if the company records year after year Sales skyrocketed in billions and defeat opponents like H&M and Zara. Despite Shein’s rise to prominence, its CEO has remained largely in the shadows. That could change as the company continues to work toward its highly anticipated debut as a public company.
There are a few things that help explain this CEO’s reclusive tendencies. Coins, as described by South China Morning Post, is a “strong, bespectacled” and modest man who “often goes unnoticed by staff in the office.” According to several people who have worked with Xu, the newspaper said, the Chinese billionaire chose to avoid national attention because of his personality — and to minimize any inadvertent scrutiny Shein might face. face if more attention is paid to him.
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Shein is has headquarters in Singapore but already establish in China—and what Chinese CEOs face different types of pressure from the Chinese government. They often take measures to minimize attention from government party officials who may exert pressure significant control about the company and their personal lives. More than a dozen China’s top business billionaires, incl Alibaba founder Jack Mahas disappeared or disappeared in recent years in connection with Beijing’s radical crackdown on corruption in the economy.
However, in every aspect, Xu’s mysterious appearance is still unusual. No verified photos of him exist, and his company photo is simply a basic landscape marked with the phrase “if you have a dream, you are remarkable,” according to the newspaper. South China Morning Post. He also never made any public speeches or released videos for his clients on social media.
Shein, now The world’s largest and fastest growing apparel companyis said to be about to submit a prospectus to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, one of the first steps needed to gain approval to launch an initial public offering (IPO), worth about 63 billion USD on the London Stock Exchange.
Once it becomes a public company, Shein will have to give up many of the freedoms it had as a private company. For example, publicly traded companies are subject to disclosure requirements—such as filing quarterly and annual financial reports and marking significant corporate moves by directors. senior executives, such as trading stocks, selling assets, or considering acquisitions—and often answer to shareholders.
Shein first sought an IPO in the US last November and filed a confidential application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a common practice for companies to avoid disclosing sensitive data. have a cold. The SEC notified Shein of its application will not be accepted unless it is publicly filed.
The catch-22 with a public filing, as Shein likely realized, is that it also comes with increased public scrutiny — and the company is not without bad press.
In 2022, one Bloomberg investigation said the retailer is sourcing cotton from China Xinjiang province, even though The evidence is growing that agricultural products in the region depend on the forced labor of the region’s repressed Uyghur population. In 2021, the United States passed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), bans any products from Xinjiang from entering the United States, based on the assumption that those products rely on forced labor. However, Shein was able to slip through the cracks in that action: Shein ships its products directly to customers, bypassing the large shipping warehouses that U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspects, and therefore not subject to inspection under the act.
Instead of re-filing publicly in the US, the fast fashion company now reportedly planning to file Its IPO is in the UK, where it could face various challenges from the country’s Labor Party, which is largely focused on workers’ rights and was expected by many to win election.
ONE investigation from Public Eye, a human rights abuses watchdog based in Switzerland, found that Shein’s workers worked 75 hours a week and other reports alleges company violations such as forced labor, stealing other designers’ work and using potentially hazardous materials in clothing.
Shein did not immediately respond luck Request comments.
