Catenaa, Friday, March 14, 2025– China’s fast-fashion retailer Shein is committed to taking the company public despite being in the trade war with US President Donald Trump.
Executive Chairman of Shein, Donald Tang, said in an interview on Thursday that a listing would help earn public trust and increase transparency of Shein, which has been accused of tolerating labor violations among its Chinese suppliers.
Tang was in London to talk about Shein weeks after investors said the company should cut its valuation by more than two-thirds to about $30 billion.
Shein is grappling with the Trump administration’s proposal to end tariff-free imports of small goods from China, the so-called “de minimus” exemption, where parcels under $800 have long been excluded from duties.
“We want to make sure the customers are not impacted by whatever storm is coming,” said Tang, who added the company had not yet seen any signs of a slowdown in the US.
He said Shein would try to cut costs by packing more products together and reducing waste. Tang also said stockpiling goods in the US could backfire by leaving the company with unsold merchandise.
“It weighs you down because you have to warehouse it, you have to finance it, you have to figure a way to deal with it,” he said. “If you have to send it to a landfill, it’s not good for the planet.”
Tang said Shein would comply with the new rules, and “find a way” to protect customers. “We’re confident that’s not the issue for us,” he said.
Shein, which was valued at $66 billion in a funding round in 2023 and at as much as $100 billion in 2022, confidentially filed papers in June for a London listing.
“By going public we can earn more efficiently the most amount of public trust, which is crucial for the growth of our company,” he said in the interview.
Tang said he “didn’t know” when Shein would receive approval from UK and Chinese regulators for the potential listing.
