Mysterious Figure Behind Chinese E-Commerce Giant Shein Draws Scrutiny
Sky Xu, or Xu Yangtian, is rather different from most founders of major global companies. The founder of the e-commerce king, Shein, has never appeared in public and has no digital footprint whatsoever.
He founded Shein in 2012. Fourteen years have passed since then, and even a prospective IPO worth nearly US$50 billion has not tempted him to step forward.
Citing Reuters, Xu prefers to delegate much to others, including hiring former banker and media executive Donald Tang during the company’s attempt to list in New York, United States.
Tang was appointed senior advisor and executive chairman, handling relations with politicians and investors.
Reuters also reported that Shein rejected several requests to interview Xu. Questions about the company’s CEO and founder also went unanswered.
Shein, which has promised to increase its transparency, does not even list Xu on its official website. There is no information whatsoever about who owns or leads the company.
One piece of information that is known is that Xu was born in Zibo, Shandong, in 1984. Several Chinese media reports say Xu’s mother was a garment factory worker.
An industry source who knows Xu described him as patient, humble and pragmatic. He is also detail-oriented and involved in Shein’s day-to-day operations.
Regarding the IPO, Xu was reportedly hesitant to make a decision, as he believes the company should not depend on external funding to compete.
In fact, Xu has not been entirely hidden away. He once appeared to deliver a speech about Shein’s investment in its supply chain at the Quality Development Conference in February.
Meanwhile, Xu’s reclusive stance and the scarcity of information about him have raised concerns among politicians in the US and UK regarding Shein’s IPO.
However, a second source close to Xu supports that strategy, as it could minimise the risk of a crackdown by the Chinese government.
Such a crackdown had previously befallen Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, and derailed Ant Group’s US$37 billion IPO.