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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Catherine Bennett

Jeremy Hunt and Gen Z are clearly of a mind on Shein. They’d rather skirt the issues

illustration of people being irresistibly drawn to horseshoe-shaped magnet formed of pair of trousers
Illustration: Dominic McKenzie/The Observer

At a time when more responsible politicians are finally pushing back against expansion by the fast fashion monster, Shein, it feels inevitable that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has begged the company to make itself comfortable in the UK.

Hunt recently, Sky News discovered, met the Shein executive, Donald Tang, in the hope that the e-commerce company, which has faced resistance to a flotation in New York, will decide to list instead on the London stock market. A Treasury spokesman said, enticingly: “We have developed reforms to boost the UK as a destination for IPOs, including making it easier for companies to list more quickly.” After recent snubs to London, an entry from Shein, valued at up to £70bn, would be, as well as one of the biggest flotations in its history, a complete answer to ethical FAQs, a giant sign that translates, for any reputationally afflicted clients, as We’ll List Anyone!

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