Reporter | Chen Qirui
Edit | Lou Shuqin
1
Reuters recently quoted relevant people in the report that China's cross-border fast fashion e-commerce Shein may have changed the company's controlling entity to a Singapore company, and the founder Xu Yangtian may have obtained Singapore permanent resident status.
After analyzing the public documents, Reuters noted that the main body of the Shein web page and app is a company called Roadget Business Pte. Ltd. Singapore Company. The company was founded in 2019, completed the main body formalities change in 2021, and owns the intellectual property rights of Guangzhou Xiyin International Import and Export Co., Ltd. and Shein trademark.
Shein was established in 2008 and operates in China with Nanjing Lingtian Information Technology Co., Ltd. According to the public information of Tianyancha, the company has cancelled its business license in April 2021, and Xu Yangtian is no longer a legal person of any domestic related company.
Shein identified on its official website as Roadget Business Pte. LTD.
Shein indicates on its website that the intellectual property rights of its trademark belong to Roadget Business Pte. LTD.
Xu Yangtian's position as legal representative of the domestic company has been cancelled
Nanjing Lingtian Information Technology Co., Ltd. and its branch, which is the main body of Shein's domestic operations, have been deregistered
On linkedIn, a workplace social networking app, Shein has changed the address of the company's headquarters to Singapore and is currently ramping up recruitment for singapore-based employees. Sources told Reuters that the round of recruitment is expected to bring nearly 200 new employees to Shein, covering the fields of personnel, marketing and IT.
Xu Yangtian did not directly respond to the Reuters report. Interface Fashion asked Shein for verification on this matter and received the following response:
"We are a cross-border e-commerce company exported to more than 150 countries and regions around the world, in order to better promote the development of local business, facilitate the service of users, and meet the local government regulatory requirements, we are a multi-center operation setup, and the positioning and functions of each center have not changed." China is our important center, and with the goal of localization, we will also have centers in each core market, such as the United States, Singapore, etc. Recruitment around the globe is normal. We will continue to face the needs of global users, serve the Chinese industry and serve local consumers around the world. ”
The spokesman also said that Xu Yangtian is still a Chinese citizen.
Shein has changed the company's headquarters address on LinkedIn's homepage to Singapore
Shein's office address on the LinkedIn homepage
Roadget Business Pte. LTD.'s company information, office address and LinkedIn overlap
Singapore law stipulates that foreigners must have held permanent resident status for at least two years to acquire Singapore citizenship. Sources quoted by Reuters said Shein may restart plans to go public in the United States in the near future, relocating the business to Singapore or related to the matter.
Similarly, a Shein spokesperson said reports of restarting plans to go public in the U.S. were untrue. Previously, Interface Fashion had written that under the new regulations of the Csrc, Chinese companies need to meet a series of new conditions if they want to go public in the United States.
According to the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Securities Issuance and Listing by Domestic Enterprises Abroad (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) issued by the CSRC on 24 December 2021, the main operating business and main sources of income of Chinese companies listed overseas should occur in China. As a cross-border e-commerce brand, Shein's main markets have long been overseas, with a focus on the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
The parent company of Guangzhou Xiyin International Import & Export Co., Ltd. has been changed to Roadget Business Pte. LTD.
This also means that most of Shein's revenue streams occur overseas, rather than being contributed by consumers in China. If Shein insists on going public in the United States, it will inevitably make large-scale adjustments to the company's structure and business model.
Shein has become a unicorn in the cross-border e-commerce industry. Although Shein does not need to disclose its business status as a private company, it is reported that its sales revenue in 2021 is about $15.7 billion. For comparison, Zara's parent company, inditex Group, had revenues of €20.4 billion and €28.2 billion (approximately $23.67 billion and $32.09 billion, respectively) in 2020 and 2019.
Interface Fashion has repeatedly reported that a strong supply chain system and a big data system are the main driving forces supporting Shein's rise. Relying on a large number of factories in the Pearl River Delta region, Shein can quickly style a large number of clothing in small batches to cope with the rapidly changing preferences of consumers. The latest development is that Shein plans to build the Greater Bay Area Supply Chain Headquarters in Zhongxin Town, Zengcheng District, Guangzhou, covering an area of about 3,000 mu and a total construction area of 3.3 million square meters.