Suppliers offered sweeteners to set up shop in Vietnam

Agencies and staff reporter

Fast fashion giant Shein is asking some of its top apparel suppliers in China to set up new production capacity in Vietnam with incentives including higher procurement prices of as much as 30 percent, people familiar with the matter said.

The efforts have been in the works for the past few months and have accelerated in recent weeks as the company seeks to mitigate the impact of fresh US tariffs on Chinese goods, the people said.

Adding supply outside of China will allow Shein to avoid US President Donald Trump's punitive policy on goods coming from the world's second-largest economy.

This includes the removal of a longstanding duty-free exception for low-value packages, which poses an existential problem for Shein and rival Temu, whose businesses are built on the so-called "de minimis" rule.

The sweeteners that Shein is offering its top Chinese suppliers to open new production lines in Vietnam include higher procurement prices of 15-30 percent and guaranteeing bigger orders, the people said.

In other news, Kash Patel, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reportedly owns stocks valued up to US$5 million (HK$39 million) in Shein's parent Elite Depot, according to US media Wired.