Chinese fast fashion dresses the world: Shein rival Temu sets up EU base in Dublin

Temu is making inroads into the US and EU markets

Jonathan Keane

March 19 2023 02:30 AM

Temu, a Chinese e-commerce site that competes with online fast-fashion retailer Shein, is setting up an Irish base as it plans to enter the European market.

PDD Holdings, the Chinese tech giant behind online retailer Pinduoduo, established Temu in 2022 to target Western markets.

It launched in the US last September, selling low-price clothes and accessories from Chinese suppliers.

Temu is now making its way to Europe. It recently established an Irish entity and has begun recruitment for roles in Dublin.

It is seeking tax managers, accountants and legal professionals specialising in data protection and product safety compliance.

According to the job ads, the positions are based on site on St Stephen’s Green.

Temu did not respond to requests for comment.

While it only launched last September, Temu has managed to gain considerable traction in the US.

Within its first four months, it soared to more than 44 million unique viewers, according to Comscore.

In the US courts, Shein is currently bringing a case against Temu, accusing them of paying social-media influencers to make “false and deceptive statements” about Shein.

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Temu has invested heavily in marketing its fast fashion through the social media app TikTok, where much of its young target audience can be found. It also uses traditional advertising, and had an advert aired during the US Super Bowl last month.

Temu’s parent is currently valued at $119bn

Chinese online clothing retailers have expanded aggressively in Europe and North America.
Shein specialises in selling clothes at very low prices, undercutting much of the competition to amass a significant e-commerce market share globally.

Reuters reported last week that Shein is in the middle of a fundraising round, seeking up to $2bn, with the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund leading the investment.

Shein has also hired a local team in Dublin, while Temu is also reportedly planning to launch operations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as part of its aggressive expansion.

Temu’s parent company PDD Holdings floated on the Nasdaq in 2018 and is currently valued at $119bn (€112bn).

It was previously named Pinduoduo, its flagship service – but last month it changed the name of the parent company. The company is due to report its latest quarterly earnings tomorrow.

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Chinese fast fashion dresses the world: Shein rival Temu sets up EU base in Dublin

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