Fast-fashion giant Shein's shares fall after Hong Kong trading debut that spotlights its China roots

FASHION Fast-fashion giant Shein’s shares fall after Hong Kong trading debut that spotlights its China roots Shares in fast-fashion online retail giant Shein fell as much as 10 percent after they began trading on Hong Kong’s stock market Tuesday, after a long delay in the company’s plans to list its shares publicly. Shein raised about $1.7 billion, priced at HK$48.56 (US $6.19) a share, in its initial public offering in Hong Kong in one of the city’s biggest new share sales this year. “Shein’s Hong Kong listing marks a new starting point,” said Leigh Gui, Shein’s chief financial officer, in a short speech at its listing ceremony. In early trading, the shares fell to below HK$44 before losses narrowed later in the day. It closed nearly unchanged at HK$48.50. Shein’s appeal to customers has been built on ultra-fast, affordable fashion, delivered from China to the West in just days. The end of “de minimis” tariff exemptions in the US and the European Union has raised duties for low value parcels from China, including Shein’s products. Higher logistics costs partly due to the war in Iran also have squeezed the company’s low-price business model and profitability. Tariff costs have forced Shein to raise prices, “cutting into its main advantage,” said Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies. Shein recorded a $99 million loss in the first three months of this year, compared with a $395 million profit in the same period a year earlier. Earlier, Shein, pronounced “she-in,” explored listing its shares in New York and London. It moved its headquarters from China to Singapore around 2021. But increasingly strict scrutiny by Beijing and by regulators in the US and Europe led it to embrace its Chinese roots and switch to a listing in Hong Kong. — ASSOCIATED PRESS TECH Apple begins its next balancing act as new CEO takes over The Apple logo is seen at an Apple Store in Austin, Texas, on April 30. Brandon Bell/Getty John Ternus became Apple’s CEO on Tuesday, succeeding Tim Cook, the company’s leader for the last 15 years. The long-anticipated handoff, Cook has said, will be “perfectly smooth.” But the changing of the guard could still have some bumps. Ternus will have to guide Apple through an unusual amount of leadership churn. He will have to stem an exodus of talent to companies like OpenAI. And he will have to distinguish himself from Cook, who will remain at Apple as its executive chair. Most of all, Ternus will have to perform a balancing act: displaying the financial predictability and discipline that have been a hallmark of the Cook era while showing that Apple can still create new products that capture the imagination of consumers. Ternus will have to do so while steering Apple through arguably the biggest technology shift in a generation. At its annual hardware event this month, Apple is expected to introduce a foldable iPhone — its most significant change in 19 years to its most important product. The company is also taking another stab at weaving artificial intelligence through its products. “Apple is going to have to face this idea of ‘What’s next?’” said Michael Gartenberg, a consumer technology analyst who worked as a product marketer at Apple from 2013 to 2016. The task for Ternus, he added, is to “bring Apple back to being a cool brand even though it’s a multitrillion-dollar company, show that you are able to innovate.” Apple, which has waffled over how aggressively to embrace AI, will tackle those questions with a changing management team. Over the past four months, Ternus, 51, has started to install his own executives, mixing a roster of Apple veterans with newcomers. — NEW YORK TIMES FOOD & BEVERAGE Keurig Dr Pepper to sell back Chobani stake, manufacturing site for $925 million Chobani yogurt cups are displayed in New York in 2017. Mark Lennihan Keurig Dr Pepper said on Tuesday it would sell its stake in Chobani back to the yogurt maker along with a manufacturing facility for $925 million, as the beverage company reshapes its business following its acquisition of JDE Peet’s. Keurig, which has a headquarters in Burlington, will sell its entire equity stake in Chobani for $800 million, and a manufacturing facility and warehouse in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for $125 million. The company has been reshaping its portfolio since its $18 billion acquisition of Dutch coffee and tea maker JDE Peet’s in April. It is also preparing to separate its coffee and beverage operations into two publicly traded US companies. Chobani said it would invest about $1.2 billion over the next five years in the facility, as it seeks to create milk with more protein and less sugar than traditional milk. Last month, Keurig Dr Pepper maintained its annual forecasts after strong demand for its soda and energy drink brands helped it beat second-quarter sales and profit estimates. — REUTERS PRIVATE EQUITY Nestle to divest mainstream supplements business for $1 billion Nestle on Tuesday agreed to divest Holistic Health platform, its mainstream vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) business, to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners for $1 billion, according to a statement from the two companies. The deal includes seven brands — Nature’s Bounty, Osteo Bi-Flex, Ester-C, Gard, Nuun, Puritan’s Pride and Sisu — and the US private-label supplements business, the Swiss food giant said in its statement. “We are focusing our resources where we have the strongest competitive advantage”, Nestle CEO Philipp Navratil said, adding that “the mainstream VMS business requires a different approach under dedicated ownership”. The deal, which is expected to close by the first half of 2027, is Yellow Wood’s sixth acquisition from major consumer companies since 2019. The Boston-based firm acquired lip balm brand ChapStick from Haleon in 2024, and Unilever’s non-core beauty and personal care division Elida Beauty in 2023. — REUTERS JOBS US job openings rise slightly to 7.3 million as labor market remains sturdy despite higher costs A "help wanted" sign is seen outside of a company in Wheeling, Ill., on June 8. Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh Employers posted slightly more job openings in July but the American labor market remained sturdy in the face of higher costs that are squeezing household budgets. US job openings ticked up to 7.27 million in July from a revised 7.18 million in June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey also showed that layoffs fell. But so did the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects. The report showed that gross hiring — before subtracting those who lost or quit their jobs — dipped to 5.1 million in July from 5.3 million in June. — ASSOCIATED PRESS CONSTRUCTION US construction spending drops to nearly three-year low in July Construction workers build a home at a new housing development in Hardeeville, S.C., on March 31. SEAN RAYFORD/NYT US construction spending unexpectedly fell in July, hitting the lowest level in nearly three years as higher mortgage rates weighed on single-family homebuilding. The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday that construction spending dropped 0.5 percent to $2.158 trillion, the lowest level since October 2023. Data for June was revised higher to show construction spending unchanged instead of dipping 0.1 percent, as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending would be unchanged in July. Construction spending plunged 3.8 percent on a year-over-year basis in July. Spending on private construction projects decreased 0.5 percent after easing 0.1 percent in June. Investment in residential construction tumbled 1.3 percent. Spending on single-family housing projects dropped 3.2 percent. On a year-over-year basis, it plummeted 6.5 percent in July. Homebuilding is also being squeezed by a glut of unsold single-family houses. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is hovering near a one-year high of 6.66 percent, data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac showed. It has surged by almost 70 basis points since the US-Israeli war with Iran started in late February. Spending on multi-family housing units, which account for a small share of the housing market, rose 0.2 percent in July. — REUTERS