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Article

14 Jul 2020

Author:
Poppy Wood, City A.M.

Boohoo: Fast fashion retailer’s shares drop as major shareholder dumps stock in wake of allegations of exploitation and labour rights abuses in UK supply chain

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“Boohoo shares plunge as major shareholder dumps stock”, 13 July 2020

Boohoo shares continued last week’s downturn this morning, slumping as much as 15.4 per cent…

Standard Life Aberdeen … sold off shares in the fashion brand worth nearly £80m, following allegations of poor working conditions at a factory in Leicester linked to the firm…

The asset manager slammed Boohoo’s “inadequate” response to a Sunday Times investigation which revealed workers at Leicester’s Jaswal Fashions factory, which makes clothes for Boohoo’s Nasty Gal brand, were paid as little as £3.50 an hour.

“Having spoken to Boohoo’s management team a number of times this week in light of recent concerning allegations, we view their response as inadequate in scope, timeliness and gravity,” said Lesley Duncan, deputy head of UK equities at Aberdeen Standard Investments, SLA’s fund management business.

Major retailers Next, Zalando, Amazon and Asos all cut ties with the fast fashion brand last week, wiping £1.5bn from the fast fashion brand’s value in just two days.

It comes as a separate Boohoo warehouse in Sheffield was yesterday branded a “breeding ground” for coronavirus, after 25 workers tested positive for coronavirus and dozens more suffered symptoms.

Workers at the building, which distributes garments for Boohoo’s Pretty Little Thing label, said they were forced to continue working 12-hour shifts throughout lockdown despite social distancing rules.

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