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希音CEO:低调到连员工都认不出来

SUNNY NAGPAUL
2024-06-20

希音CEO许仰天成功避开了公众的关注。

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JOHN RENSTEN—GETTY IMAGES

在美国,人们总是喜欢赞美那些成功人士,他们将创意转化成价值数百万美元的公司,因此如果有一位CEO,连自己公司旗下的员工都不认识他,尤其是希音(Shein)这样一家规模庞大的公司的CEO,难免会让人觉得有些奇怪。

然而,希音40岁的CEO许仰天(又名Chris Xu或Sky Xu)显然就是如此低调。他在很大程度上避开了公众的视线,包括不参加采访和会议。即使在中国,他的身份之神秘也不同寻常。

据《南华早报》报道,尽管希音的销售额年年飙升数十亿美元,并且击败了H&M和Zara等竞争对手,但该公司从未公布过许仰天的任何照片。希音声名鹊起,但其CEO却基本隐居幕后。随着该公司继续努力完成备受期待的首次公开募股,成为一家上市公司,这种情况可能会有所改变。

有几件事有助于解释这位CEO的低调作风。根据《南华早报》的描述,许仰天“身材瘦削,戴一副眼镜”,为人谦逊,“在办公室里经常不被员工注意”。该媒体称,据几位曾与他共事的人士透露,这位中国亿万富翁选择避开全国媒体的关注,是因为他的个性如此,也是为了尽量减少在他受到更多关注之后希音可能面临的任何不经意的审查。

2024年4月18日,英格兰利物浦,电视真人秀明星娜塔莉亚·佐帕出席希音在利物浦一号购物中心的快闪店的开业仪式。ANTHONY DEVLIN—GETTY IMAGES

尽管如此,许仰天的神秘色彩仍然不同寻常。据《南华早报》报道,他没有任何经核实的照片,他的公司照片也只是一幅普通风景画,上面写着“拥有梦想,铸就不凡”。他从未公开发表过任何演讲,或者在社交媒体上向客户群体发布视频。

据报道,希音是目前世界上最大、发展最快的服装公司,即将向英国金融行为监管局(Financial Conduct Authority)提交招股说明书,这是该公司获批进行首次公开发行募股(IPO)的第一步。该公司在伦敦证券交易所(London Stock Exchange)的估值约为630亿美元。

一旦成为上市公司,希音将不得不放弃在上市前曾经享有的许多自由。例如,上市公司必须遵守信息披露要求,如提交季度和年度财务报告,并公示公司高级管理人员的重要举动(如交易股票、出售资产或考虑收购等),而且通常需要对股东负责。

去年11月,希音首次寻求在美国上市,并以保密方式向美国证券交易委员会(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,SEC)提交了申请,这是公司避免披露敏感数据的常见做法。美国证券交易委员会通知希音,除非公开提交申请,否则将不受理其上市申请。

正如希音所意识到的那样,公开申请上市带来的一个两难局面在于,它也会受到更多的公众审查,而该公司不乏负面新闻。

据报道,该快速时尚公司现在没有在美国重新公开申请上市,而是计划在英国申请IPO,这可能让它面临来自英国工党的不同挑战,工党主要关注工人权利,而且人们普遍预计工党将在选举中获胜。

希音没有立即回应《财富》杂志的置评请求。(财富中文网)

翻译:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

在美国,人们总是喜欢赞美那些成功人士,他们将创意转化成价值数百万美元的公司,因此如果有一位CEO,连自己公司旗下的员工都不认识他,尤其是希音(Shein)这样一家规模庞大的公司的CEO,难免会让人觉得有些奇怪。

然而,希音40岁的CEO许仰天(又名Chris Xu或Sky Xu)显然就是如此低调。他在很大程度上避开了公众的视线,包括不参加采访和会议。即使在中国,他的身份之神秘也不同寻常。

据《南华早报》报道,尽管希音的销售额年年飙升数十亿美元,并且击败了H&M和Zara等竞争对手,但该公司从未公布过许仰天的任何照片。希音声名鹊起,但其CEO却基本隐居幕后。随着该公司继续努力完成备受期待的首次公开募股,成为一家上市公司,这种情况可能会有所改变。

有几件事有助于解释这位CEO的低调作风。根据《南华早报》的描述,许仰天“身材瘦削,戴一副眼镜”,为人谦逊,“在办公室里经常不被员工注意”。该媒体称,据几位曾与他共事的人士透露,这位中国亿万富翁选择避开全国媒体的关注,是因为他的个性如此,也是为了尽量减少在他受到更多关注之后希音可能面临的任何不经意的审查。

2024年4月18日,英格兰利物浦,电视真人秀明星娜塔莉亚·佐帕出席希音在利物浦一号购物中心的快闪店的开业仪式。ANTHONY DEVLIN—GETTY IMAGES

尽管如此,许仰天的神秘色彩仍然不同寻常。据《南华早报》报道,他没有任何经核实的照片,他的公司照片也只是一幅普通风景画,上面写着“拥有梦想,铸就不凡”。他从未公开发表过任何演讲,或者在社交媒体上向客户群体发布视频。

据报道,希音是目前世界上最大、发展最快的服装公司,即将向英国金融行为监管局(Financial Conduct Authority)提交招股说明书,这是该公司获批进行首次公开发行募股(IPO)的第一步。该公司在伦敦证券交易所(London Stock Exchange)的估值约为630亿美元。

一旦成为上市公司,希音将不得不放弃在上市前曾经享有的许多自由。例如,上市公司必须遵守信息披露要求,如提交季度和年度财务报告,并公示公司高级管理人员的重要举动(如交易股票、出售资产或考虑收购等),而且通常需要对股东负责。

去年11月,希音首次寻求在美国上市,并以保密方式向美国证券交易委员会(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,SEC)提交了申请,这是公司避免披露敏感数据的常见做法。美国证券交易委员会通知希音,除非公开提交申请,否则将不受理其上市申请。

正如希音所意识到的那样,公开申请上市带来的一个两难局面在于,它也会受到更多的公众审查,而该公司不乏负面新闻。

据报道,该快速时尚公司现在没有在美国重新公开申请上市,而是计划在英国申请IPO,这可能让它面临来自英国工党的不同挑战,工党主要关注工人权利,而且人们普遍预计工党将在选举中获胜。

希音没有立即回应《财富》杂志的置评请求。(财富中文网)

翻译:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

In America, where we tend to celebrate successful individuals who turn ideas into multimillion-dollar companies, it’s a little odd to think of a CEO—especially one heading a company as colossal as Shein—going unrecognized by his own employees.

And yet that’s apparently the case for Shein’s 40-year-old CEO Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu or Sky Xu, who has largely avoided the public eye, including interviews and conferences. The secrecy surrounding him is being seen as unusual even in China.

Shein has never published any photos of Xu, South China Morning Post reported, even as the firm records year after year of skyrocketing sales in the billions and besting rivals like H&M and Zara. Despite Shein’s rise to prominence, its CEO has largely remained in the shadows. That could change as the company continues working toward its highly anticipated debut as a public company.

A number of things help explain the CEO’s reclusive tendencies. Xu, as described by South China Morning Post, is a “wiry, bespectacled,” and humble man who “often goes unnoticed by staff in the office.” According to several people who worked with Xu, the publication stated, the Chinese billionaire chooses to avoid a national spotlight because of his personality and to minimize any inadvertent scrutiny Shein could face if more attention were to be paid to him.

Reality TV star Natalia Zoppa attends the launch of the Shein pop-up store at Liverpool One on April 18, 2024, in Liverpool, England.

All things considered, though, Xu’s air of mystery is still unusual. No verified photos of him exist, and his company photo is simply a basic landscape marked with the phrase, “If you have dreams, you are remarkable,” according to the South China Morning Post. He has never made any public speeches or released videos to his customer base on social media, either.

Shein, now the largest and fastest-growing apparel company in the world, is reportedly about to file a prospectus with Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, one of the first steps it needs to get approved to launch its initial public offering (IPO) of shares, which is valued at about $63 billion on the London Stock Exchange.

Once it becomes a public company, Shein would have to forgo many liberties it once took while private. Publicly traded companies, for example, are subject to disclosure requirements—such as filing quarterly and annual financial reports and flagging important company moves by senior executives, like stock trading, selling assets, or considering acquisitions—and are often required to answer to shareholders.

Shein first sought to go public in the U.S. last November, and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confidentially, which is a common practice by companies meant to avoid disclosing sensitive data. The SEC informed Shein its application would not be accepted unless it was filed publicly.

The catch-22 to a public filing, as Shein may be realizing, is that it also comes with more public scrutiny—and the company has not been without its bad press.

Rather than reapplying publicly in the U.S., the fast-fashion company now reportedly plans to file its IPO in the U.K., where it may face different challenges from the country’s Labour Party, which largely focuses on workers’ rights and is widely expected to win elections.

Shein did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

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