Fast (and furious) fashion… Temu, a US subsidiary of Chinese ecomm giant Pinduoduo, intensified its rift with rival Shein with a new lawsuit. In October, both online retail giants agreed to drop previous suits that accused each other of antitrust and copyright issues. But this week WhaleCo (which operates as Temu in the US) filed a 100-page suit accusing Shein of using “mafia-style” tactics — including intimidating and illegally detaining merchants, stealing usernames and passwords, and violating IP rights.
Hate-click: Temu’s suit says it uploads 100K images to its site daily and gets 170 copyright takedown requests — 63% of those from Shein.
American dream: Both cos have aggressively vied for a bigger slice of the US online shopping pie as cash-strapped consumers snatch up $5 tanks and $15 foyer rugs.
Clash of the ecomm titans… Shein’s had an astronomical rise since its 2017 US debut, and now makes up half of all fast-fashion sales (more than H&M and Zara combined). Last month Shein reportedly filed for its long-anticipated US IPO, seeking up to a $90B valuation — but Temu’s hot on its track. Less than a year after its US launch, Temu became the most downloaded app in America after its Super Bowl ad in February. Temu surpassed Shein in transactions for the first time in May, Bloomberg data showed, and last month it tripled Shein's US sales.
Competition isn’t the biggest problem… Temu and Shein see each other as threats to US growth (hence: the spicy legal beef), but they may have greater obstacles. US lawmakers are looking to halt Shein’s IPO unless it can show it doesn’t use forced labor. Plus, the company’s been accused of copyright infringement from fashion brands and indie designers. Last month, Temu was sued over allegations it “aggressively” stole customer data through its app.