Inside Shein’s Public Relations Campaign to Rehab Its Image and Become a Publicly Traded Company
Shein, the mega online retailer trying to rehab its image since it’s been in the crosshairs of U.S. legislators and retail competitors, has some surprising news: it wants U.S. regulations changed so it pays more tariffs.
That was the message relayed by Donald Tang, executive chairman of the fashion juggernaut founded in China and now headquartered in Singapore. Ever since the former investment banker’s arrival at the company two years ago, there has been a major push to shine a better light on the company criticized for skirting U.S. tariffs, employing forced laborers in China, illegally using Xinjiang cotton in its products, and copying other people’s designs. These are all accusations the company denies.
More from WWD
-
Quiet Luxury Brand Toteme Arrives in L.A. With Swedish Serene Meets Art Moderne Flagship
-
Medical Apparel Brand Figs to Outfit Staff at Paris, Los Angeles Olympics
With a possible initial public offering in the works, either in the U.S. or England, Tang is spreading the word that Shein, with 150 million online customers in 150 countries, wants to comply with all U.S. and international laws and become a more transparent company. Being a publicly traded company, he said, is the way to foster that.
On Thursday, Tang, who came to the U.S. as a teenager from Shanghai, was the keynote speaker at a World Trade Week event in Long Beach, Calif., just south of Los Angeles. In a sit-down interview with WWD, Tang, who works in downtown L.A. in an office with more than 200 employees, talked about a wide range of issues. He started with one of the biggest criticisms against the company valued at $66 billion: it doesn’t pay tariffs on most of the items it ships to the U.S..
Shein takes advantage of a U.S. rule voiding tariffs on any shipments valued at less than $800. Until 2016, only shipments valued less than $200 were exempt from tariffs.
U.S. lawmakers claim this regulation gives Shein, and other foreign manufacturers, an unfair advantage over U.S. retailers whose overseas shipments are subject to tariffs that can add between 8.5 percent to 67.2 percent to a garment’s price.
But Tang said Shein wants to see the U.S. rule, known as de minimus, changed to a lower valuation. “We are for a complete makeover of the regulation,” Tang said. “We believe reformation of the law is needed. …We are saying, ‘Whatever the outcome, we’re embracing it.’” However, Shein would like tariffs applied to the wholesale value of a product and not the retail value.
If asking to pay more tariffs seems counterintuitive to running a business, Tang explains the company has a better future by complying with all laws and regulations that govern businesses. “What better way to be transparent than becoming a public company,” he observed. “You’re in a large public fish tank. Everybody is watching you.”