Team News Riveting
Popular clothing brand H&M has been fined 137,800 ($21,734) by the local market regulator in Shanghai for selling poor-quality clothing and sunglasses.
Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a Swedish multinational clothing company headquartered in Stockholm. It is known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers, and children. As of November 2019, H&M operates in 74 countries with over 5,000 stores under the various company brands, with 126,000 full-time equivalent positions. It is the second-largest global clothing retailer.
The move of Chinese authorities is seen as an act of business revenge on the non-Chinese brands in the country. However, people are taking a jibe at China for the action that its state-run news paper flashed.
“That is insane, but great !!! Encouraging more companies to have nothing to do with China. If all nations did this, Chinese companies would be fined millions a day for China producing the worst quality products on the planet,” tweeted one while another quipped, “And they were all made in China So fine your cheap poor-quality country too.”
According to market experts, expansionist China has been dumping its poor quality of products in every country but has been aggressive against the foreign brands at home.
China’s crackdown on private enterprise has wiped out more than $1.2 trillion in market value for many powerful Chinese companies and stoked fears about the future innovation in the world’s second largest economy.
But the end goal of Beijing’s aggressive bid for control isn’t about creating chaos. The government wants to make clear to its corporate champions that tapping capitalist markets is fine — as long as it is on the terms of ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The heavy selling has accelerated in recent months as Chinese authorities slap companies with fines, ban apps from stores and demand that some firms completely overhaul their businesses.
