Bad news, fast fashion girlies – it looks like your favourite online retailers could soon be put under microscope for their ultra cheap prices, lack of local employees, and for allegedly not paying taxes.
As reported by The Nightly, billionaire Gerry Harvey, co-founder and chair of Harvey Norman, has taken a stand against these uber cheap online stores he believes are killing off local businesses.
“(Shein and Temu) are a . . . pariah, it’s a very difficult situation for Australian retailers to combat,” he told the publication on Thursday.
“They never pay any tax here, they don’t employ anyone.
“There should be a government inquiry into it as to what ramifications are there and whether they should or shouldn’t do something about it.
“It’s a real worry, do you let it just go or not, I think it’s worth an investigation.”
So, so many deals. Source: Shein.com
While the calls for an inquiry are definitely suss when they’re coming from a billionaire with skin in the retail game, he’s kinda got a point…?
Shein and Temu have blown up in the last five years as people chase discounts and cheap deals, overlooking quality standards and in some cases, health and safety standards.
Just earlier this month, an eight-year-old girl in Queensland had to be airlifted to Queensland Children’s Hospital after she suffered burns to 13 per cent of her body while wearing a children’s clothing item from Temu.
Daniella Jacobs-Herd received a glow-in-the-dark unicorn jumper from her grandmother for her eighth birthday. Six months later in July 2024, Daniella wore the jumper to her mother’s birthday celebrations in the backyard of their Hervey Bay home where a gust of wind blew embers from a fire pit onto Daniella, igniting the Temu-bought jumper “in a split second”.
Temu has since recalled the product and said it would work with the Australian consumer watchdog to sign up for a voluntary product safety pledge.
In another bizarre instance, there was one US TikToker who found — wait for it — an actual vial of human blood in a FedEx package from fast fashion giant Shein last year.
And who can forget the ~infamous~ Temu croissant lamp aka a real croissant preserved in resin?
That’s a no from me. Source: TikTok
Addressing such safety concerns with these products, Harvey told The Nightly that consumers could have “a lot more comfort” buying from trusted brands, even if it means shelling out a little extra.
“But there’s a lot of online retailers selling some of the stuff we sell but it’s unbranded, you don’t know which factory it’s made in,” Harvey said.
“Price (is the drawcard). Mind you the picture looks good, whether the picture is as good as the product might be another thing.”
Around 3.8 million Australians over the age of 14 are believed to have bought at least one item from Temu in the last 12 months, according to research house Roy Morgan.
Around 2 million Australians are believed to be shopping at least once from Shein in the last 12 months.
“It’s been extraordinary to witness the continued rise of these ultra cheap platforms, especially over the last 9 months where they have enjoyed the kind of growth that Australian retailers can only dream of in this climate,” said Laura Demasi, Roy Morgan’s head of retail research and social & consumer trends.
It even estimates Shein and Temu raked in a combined $3 billion(!!) in annual sales in the year to last June.
There have previously been calls for these budget retailers to pay a fast fashion tax, with France passing a bill last year that seeks to penalise products sold by ultra-fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu, to offset their environmental impact.
The bill means individual items that fit the definition of fast fashion will, over the next six years, incur a tax of up to €10, or around $16 AUD.
Yup, I’m beyond curious to see where all this lands.
Lead image: NurPhoto / Getty Images
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