SHEIN's elusive founder Xu Yangtian makes rare public remarks in Guangdong: a transcript
China’s king of fast fashion tells a high-profile provincial meeting that data-driven “test-and-reorder” manufacturing can help take Guangdong-made goods global.
Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu or Sky Xu, is the rare sort of billionaire who has built one of the world’s most talked-about retailers while leaving barely a public footprint and is better known through second-hand anecdotes. Little is known about him but that he is Chinese-born, honed from an early career in search and online marketing, and the architect of SHEIN’s data-driven, ultra-fast supply chain model.
On 24 February, Xu delivered brief remarks at Guangdong’s Province-wide High-Quality Development Conference in Guangzhou, convened by the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the Guangdong Provincial Government.
The timing was entirely by design. Guangdong has made a habit of convening the meeting on the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday, fixing it in the political calendar as an annual signal of the province’s priorities. What was not routine was Xu’s decision to speak in public.
Xu joined Party secretary of Guangdong Huang Kunming, Governor of Guangdong Meng Fanli, and Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Ke Jixin.
Below is the video recording of Xu’s remarks from the live broadcast on the provincial broadcaster, along with a full English translation of his remarks.
Secretary Kunming,
Governor Fanli,
Minister Jixin,
Distinguished leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs,
Happy New Year to you all.
It is a real honour to speak here today on behalf of the business community. I feel both grateful and energised. Every step of SHEIN’s growth has been nurtured by this remarkable province. Since relocating in Guangzhou in 2014, SHEIN has sustained rapid growth. Our platform exports have exceeded RMB 100 billion [14.53 billion U.S. dollars], our product range spans apparel, footwear and accessories, beauty, and home, and our business reaches more than 160 countries and regions. Today, SHEIN is recognised globally as a leading fashion retailer.
On behalf of the SHEIN Group, I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to all government leaders and partners who have supported and guided us.
I would like to share three reflections from SHEIN’s growth journey.
First, Guangdong’s complete industrial ecosystem and first-class business environment have made SHEIN’s fast growth possible.
Our connection with Guangdong began with deep confidence in its industrial ecosystem. From garment factories in Panyu, to logistics hubs in Baiyun, to the cross-border ecosystem across the province, Guangdong provides the backbone for our “test-and-reorder model” model. From design to delivery to the customer, we can compress the cycle to just two to three weeks. That speed reflects the exceptional efficiency of Guangdong’s apparel supply chain and the responsiveness of its international logistics network.
We are equally impressed by Guangdong’s outstanding business environment. What SHEIN has achieved would not have been possible without the consistent support and care from leaders of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, the guidance from the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, and the targeted assistance from the provincial and municipal commerce departments, as well as customs, tax, and other relevant authorities. When we first arrived in Guangzhou, leaders at the provincial, municipal, and district levels proactively visited us, helped coordinate supply-chain resources, and ensured support policies were implemented. This kind of thoughtful service—“no unnecessary disruption, but a quick response when help is needed”—gave us the confidence to move faster and commit more deeply, including locating our supply-chain headquarters in Guangzhou. Today, we work with nearly 10,000 partner suppliers in Guangdong, supporting more than 600,000 jobs across the province. Guangdong has truly become the fertile ground for our development.
Second, the deep integration of manufacturing and services has enabled SHEIN’s global footprint.
Built on new models in cross-border e-commerce, SHEIN uses digital capability as the link to embed consumer demand insights, supply-chain responsiveness, and a global service network across the entire manufacturing value chain, continually exploring new pathways for deeper integration between manufacturing and services.
On the manufacturing side, demand is the core engine of production. Under the test-and-reorder model, we use technology and data to capture global market trends, anticipate shifts in consumer preferences, and translate fragmented market demand into actionable instructions for frontline production.
On the service side, cross-border logistics and localised operations are tightly integrated with manufacturing, using real-time market sales trends to guide factories in allocating production on demand and dynamically adjusting task allocation across the entire logistics and delivery chain. Customer feedback can directly trigger replenishment orders or product improvements, driving manufacturing upgrades from the market backwards. This deep integration—manufacturing embedded in service, and service driving manufacturing—has allowed SHEIN to build a dual advantage of speed and precision, and to grow into a leading player in global fashion.
Third, by fulfilling the responsibilities of a “chain leader” enterprise, SHEIN will fully support Guangdong manufacturing to go global with high quality.
Supporting the high-quality development of Guangdong’s manufacturing sector has always been central to our mission. SHEIN’s digital factory tools are now open across the full chain, helping factories increase transparency and improve operational management. We have built smart supply-chain networks in Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, and more, stimulating growth in warehousing and logistics-related industries. We have also established an apparel manufacturing innovation centre, designed as a practical skills development base integrating industry, education, evaluation. In 2025, we delivered nearly 600 training sessions, reaching 37,000 supplier attendances, strengthening the talent foundation for high-quality industry development.
Looking ahead, SHEIN’s commitment as a chain leader will only grow stronger. Since launching our initiative to support high-quality industrial clusters in going global, Guangdong has become a model province for this effort. In 2024, we achieved full coverage of industrial clusters across all 21 prefecture-level cities in the province. Over the next three years, we will participate deeply in pilots for “cross-border e-commerce plus industrial clusters” across Guangdong, so that more small and medium-sized factories can benefit from cross-border e-commerce, while helping “Guangdong-made products reach the world” steadily and sustainably.
We will continue investing in supply-chain empowerment and talent development, further supporting the digital transformation of traditional manufacturing, and delivering more interdisciplinary talent to the Greater Bay Area. And we will continue to put down deeper roots in Guangdong, investing more than RMB 10 billion [1.447 billion U.S. dollars] to build SHEIN’s smart supply-chain system, and working together to create a world-class fashion industry cluster.
Distinguished leaders, colleagues, and friends,
Guangdong is where SHEIN’s roots are, and where our journey began. We firmly believe that, in Guangdong’s wave of high-quality development, SHEIN can grow alongside this great province, and together help make “Made in Guangdong” the next benchmark for the global fashion industry.
Thank you.