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Shein reports two child labour cases in 2024 as it increased supplier audits

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Reuters

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February 26, 2025

Fast-fashion retailer Shein found two cases of child labour at its suppliers last year, the same number as in 2023, following more audits of its mostly China-based third-party manufacturers, the company told British lawmakers in a letter.

Reuters

The disclosure by Shein, which is planning an initial public offering in London, was in a February 7 response to questions from a British parliamentary committee. It was written by Yinan Zhu, Shein’s general counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and published late Tuesday.

Shein has faced allegations of worker abuses in its supply chain, and the cross-party Business and Trade Committee questioned Zhu in person in January, following up with letters asking for additional information.

In the letter, Zhu said one of the incidents involved a child aged 11 years and 8 months, whom the audit found spent time during the summer holiday at a factory where her father was the general manager and her mother worked, and “helped with tasks”.

“Nonetheless, and irrespective of these details, we took the issue extremely seriously, including designating the incident as child labour and immediately terminating our relationship with the supplier,” Zhu said in the letter.

The second case was 15 years and 3 months. Zhu also gave the ages of the children Shein previously said it found working at suppliers in 2023 as 15 years and 11 months, and 15 years and 9 months.

Shein conducted around 4,300 audits in 2024, covering about 317,000 workers, up from 4,000 audits in 2023 covering 285,000 workers, according to the letter.

“We take a strict zero tolerance approach to child labour,” Zhu wrote. “We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that these isolated cases are removed from our supply chain entirely in future, bringing our network of third-party suppliers globally, including in China, Brazil and Turkey, along with us.”

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Strathberry opens fourth store and second in hometown Edinburgh

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23 minutes ago

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February 26, 2025

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February 26, 2025

Scottish “accessible luxury” brand Strathberry has opened its fourth store. The new Victoria Street, Edinburgh, store becomes the handbag-centric brand’s second location in the city, adding to its Multrees Walk store, which opened in 2020.

Embracing the listed property’s architectural features, the store also includes its Strathberry Lounge, decorated with a selection of curated books, decorative and locally sourced objects, “conveying a sense of home and warmth”.

Inspired by art and culture, Strathberry’s design features bespoke wall art as part of is ongoing collaboration with local Scottish artists and craftspeople. It includes local artist Hayley McCrirrick’s commission to create artwork inspired by the colourways of the brand’s signature styles.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Guy and Leeanne Hundleby in 2013, they describe the new store as “exuding a contemporary yet heartfelt charm” while complementing the original store on Multrees Walk and London stores on Burlington Arcade and in Covent Garden.

The expanding business, which is expected to deliver a new set of  accounts in April, has a track record for growing sales and profits. Accounts filed for the year ended last April showed an increase in turnover and rises in all measures of profit. Then, turnover increased to £26.88 million from £17.382 million in the previous 12 months. And despite the cost of sales increasing by almost £5 million and admin expenses rising by more than £2 million, gross profit was up to £15 million from £10.28 million and operating profit increased to just short of £3 million from £1.36 million.

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Steve Madden reports 15% revenue surge in 2024

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56 minutes ago

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February 26, 2025

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February 26, 2025

American footwear brand Steve Madden announced on Wednesday a 15.2% increase in 2024 full-year revenue to $2,282.9 million, following a double-digit jump in wholesale revenues in the fourth quarter. 

Steve Madden reports 15% revenue surge in 2024. – Steve Madden

The Long Island City, New York-based company said fourth quarter revenue increased 12% to $582.3 million, backed by a 13.6% increase in its wholesale business. Wholesale footwear revenue increased 1%, while wholesale accessories and apparel revenue increased 35.4%. 

In the quarter, direct-to-consumer revenue was $176.0 million, an 8.4% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by increases in both the brick-and-mortar and e-commerce businesses.

Profit as a percentage of direct-to-consumer revenue was relatively flat at 62%, compared to 62.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by an increase in promotional activity.

“We are pleased to have delivered earnings results at the high end of our guidance range for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. For the year, revenue grew 15% and Adjusted diluted EPS increased 9% compared to 2023,” said Edward Rosenfeld, chairman and chief executive officer.

“Our strong performance in 2024 was driven by our team’s disciplined execution of our key strategic initiatives, with robust gains in international markets, non-footwear categories and direct-to-consumer channels, as well as a return to revenue growth in our U.S. wholesale footwear business.”

Earlier this month, Steve Madden announced plans to buy UK-based luxury brand Kurt Geiger in an all-cash deal valued at $360.09 million, expanding its presence in international markets.

For 2025, the company expects revenue will increase 17% to 19% compared to 2024. Diluted EPS is expected to be in the range of $2.30 to $2.40, assuming the Kurt Geiger acquisition closes on May 1, 2025.

“Looking ahead, we are cautious on the near-term outlook, as we face meaningful headwinds in 2025, most notably the impact of new tariffs on goods imported into the United States. That said, we have a proven ability to navigate difficult market conditions with our agile business model, and we are set to add a powerful new growth engine to the company with the pending acquisition of Kurt Geiger, which we expect to close in the second quarter of 2025,” added Rosenfeld.

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Germany’s Beiersdorf to buy back shares worth 500 million euros

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February 26, 2025

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Reuters

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February 26, 2025

Nivea maker Beiersdorf said on Thursday it will launch a share buyback program of up to 500 million euros ($524.85 million) in 2025.

Reuters

The program is expected to commence after the company’s 2025 annual general meeting and conclude by the end of the year.

In October, the firm reported a rise in group sales for the first nine months of 2024, and said it expected a strong fourth quarter despite persisting challenges in the Chinese luxury market.

The German skincare company also completed a 500 million euro share buyback program in 2024.

The company will report its full-year 2024 results on Thursday.

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