Worldview: PDD Takes $55 Billion Share Hit After Warning of ‘Inevitable’ Profit Decline

🇨🇳 PDD takes $55 billion share hit after warning of ‘inevitable’ profit decline. The owner of e-commerce apps Pinduoduo and Temu has warned of a decline, leading shares to fall 29 percent in New York. The warning arose as PDD’s e-commerce apps face rising competition in China and around the world, and as the tech sector has to tread a careful line in Beijing, where authorities are prioritising high-end manufacturing. On Monday, PDD’s executives said they were “committed to high-quality development”, parroting Beijing’s current policy priority. [Financial Times]

🇨🇳 Shein reveals child labour cases as it steps up supplier audits. Shein said in the report on Thursday it had suspended orders from the suppliers that had employed children under 16, sourcing from them again only after they had strengthened their processes, including checking workers’ identity documents. The company said both cases had been “resolved swiftly,” with remediation steps including ending underage employees’ contracts, arranging medical checkups, and facilitating repatriation to parents or guardians as necessary. [Reuters]

🇮🇳 Asos debuts in India via Reliance’s Ajio. India’s leading fashion e-tailer, Ajio, has launched Asos exclusively in India, offering over 3,000 curated options, including Asos Design, Asos Edition, Asos Luxe and Miss Selfridge. Ajio plans to expand the range to 20,000 options over the next year. Vineeth Nair, CEO of Ajio, and José Antonio Ramos, CEO of Asos, highlighted the partnership’s potential to meet the demand for international fashion in India. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇨🇳 Walmart sells $3.74 billion JD.com stake to focus on its own China operations. The US retail giant plans to double down on its warehouse business Sam’s Club in China after the stake sale that underscores the country’s e-commerce sector, once an investor darling, is losing its appeal as it grapples with poor margins due to brutal price competition and weak consumer demand. [Reuters]

🇧🇩 Flooding upends Bangladesh supply chain across rail, road and ports. Heavy flooding along sections of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway have caused congestion along the primary cargo route. Local authorities also suspended rail services due to the flooding. This has caused yet another hurdle to the Bangladesh garment sector after weeks of anti-government protests. [Sourcing Journal]

🇨🇳 Lanvin Group posts 20% drop in sales amid luxury slowdown. The luxury group’s revenue decreased 20 percent year over year to €171 million ($191 million) in the first half of 2024. The company attributed its slowdown to lagging demand in China and Europe and disappointing sales with retail partners. The group also generated a €42 million loss during the period as a result of the dip in sales. Lanvin’s revenue dropped 15 percent to €48 million, and Sergio Rossi’s revenue fell 38 percent percent to €20 million. It expects the slowdown to continue this year. [BoF]

🇵🇪 Peru ratifies protocol for UK’s accession to CPTPP. Peru has ratified the accession protocol of the UK to the CPTPP trade partnership, the former’s ministry of foreign affairs announced. The protocol will allow the UK to become the first economy to join the 11 CPTPP members. With the United Kingdom as a member, CPTPP will have a combined GDP of €12 trillion, or $15.7 trillion, and will account for 15 per cent of global gross domestic product. Once implemented, the UK will immediately eliminate tariffs on 94 percent of products exported from Peru. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇵🇰 Cotton arrivals in Pakistan fall by 49% amid slow start to new season. Pakistan received 1.075 million bales of cotton up to August 15 in the 2024-25 marketing season. This was a 49.17 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. The slow initial arrivals in July contrast with the early influx in previous years due to favourable weather. Overall, the 2023-24 season saw a significant increase from the previous year. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇮🇳 Amazon India set to tweak seller fees ahead of festive season. The e-commerce giant has adjusted its sellers fees by reducing commissions in the range of 3 to 12 percent for 59 categories across the site. The reduction is focused on products with low average selling prices. [Economic Times]

🇮🇳 KL Rahul invests in Drip Project’s perfume brand Metaman. The Indian cricketer has invested in Drip Projects premium perfume brand, ‘Metaman.’ The amount invested has not been disclosed. Rahul will also be the brand’s new ambassador for the Metaman line. The men’s jewellery brand Metaman was founded by Harsh Maskara and Anil Shetty in 2022 and later acquired in 2023 by Drip Project. [Economic Times]