Weekly News Wrap: Cautious travelers hit China's consumer sector; Shein sets aside $15m on factory upgrades

And a top Xiaomi India executive resigns as challenges mount.

From Reuters:

More than half of Chinese say they will put off travel abroad, for periods from several months to more than a year, even if borders re-opened tomorrow, a study showed on Tuesday, a sign that consumer recovery from COVID-19 measures will take time.

Mainland China retains some of the world's most stringent measures on PCR testing and quarantine for international travellers, despite some domestic easing of curbs after last month's unprecedented COVID protests. read more

Fear of infection with the disease was the top concern of those saying they would postpone travel in a survey of 4,000 consumers in China by consultancy Oliver Wyman, with worries about changes to domestic re-entry guidelines in second place.

"People have become cautious," said Imke Wouters, a retail and consumer goods partner at the firm. "So even when they can travel, we don't think they will come back right away."

READ MORE: Weekly News Wrap: lockdowns boost Pinduoduo’s Q3 revenues; Ex-Flipkart exec’s startup bags $8.5m in seed funding

From Bloomberg:

Fast-fashion giant Shein will spend $15m upgrading hundreds of factories after an investigation found that two of its suppliers’ warehouses are flaunting local working-hour regulations.

The Chinese retailer will spend the money over the next three to four years, Shein said Monday. The move is in response to allegations of labour abuse in a recent UK television documentary that found that employees at two factories in China were working 18-hour days and fined for making mistakes.

Shein said it has reduced orders from two factories where employees were having to work longer hours than permitted by local regulations -- an independent review found employees working as many as 13.5 hours a day. Shein has given the suppliers until the end of December to reduce the time.

From Bloomberg:

One of Xiaomi’s top executives in India is leaving the smartphone maker just as it faces intensifying regulatory scrutiny and competitive pressure in the country.

Chief Business Officer Raghu Reddy, who helped the Chinese company to the top of India’s smartphone and smart-television markets, resigned to “pursue different growth opportunities externally,” Xiaomi India said in an email on Wednesday. “It has been a privilege to have Raghu as an integral part of the Xiaomi India leadership team,” it said.

Reddy, who is currently serving notice, did not respond to a WhatsApp message seeking comment.

Xiaomi is among Chinese companies targeted by India’s government amid continued hostility between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since 2020 when the deadliest fighting in decades erupted along a disputed Himalayan border site.