Shein’s clothing store Confidentially filing for a U.S. IPO has brought low-cost PRC retailers to the forefront of consumers and regulators alike. And Temu, another China-based discount retailer often mentioned in the same breath as Shein, is looking particularly interesting today.
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Why? According to Reuters, the company is expected to report sales of more than $16 billion this year – a huge amount. Furthermore, its parent company, Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (PDD), recently overtook Alibaba in market value, dethroning a company long considered one of China’s leading business leaders. Temu is growing rapidly and is gradually reshuffling the pecking order in Chinese technology.
For a bit of context, both Shein and Temu try to give the impression that they are international companies more than Chinese companies. Shein moved its headquarters to Singapore and Temu was actually founded in Boston, Massachusetts.
Shein’s IPO is the obvious leading story given its threat, but Temu is worth another look at the moment, so we’ll do that today. To work!
