Chinese online shopping site Temu has filed a lawsuit against rival Shein, accusing it of violating antitrust laws, intimidating manufacturers not to work with them. It’s a battle for fast-fashion territory…
Shein’s online shopping growth
According to Statista Shein was the most downloaded fashion app and the most visited fashion site globally in 2022. More than 51.9 million people in Brazil had downloaded the Shein app in that year alone. Followed by the United States and Mexico. But in the fall of 2022 a new rival Temu was launched, and the competition was rife.
Temu’s online shopping growth
Its rival Temu, is not standing back. Temu’s popularity online has been surging since the day it was launched in September 2022. According to the latest available data (June 2023), the app has already been downloaded more than 32 million times world wide.
It’s a subsidiary of the Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo and has adopted similar features, such as personalized purchase recommendations.
In the dock: Shein vs Temu
The two companies have filed separate lawsuits against each other.
In the most recent case Temu filed papers on the 14th of July 2023, in the Boston federal court. Temu is accusing Shein of intimidating fashion manufacturers not to work with them. Papers filed in court state that Temu accuses Shein of forcing manufacturers to “sign loyalty oaths certifying that they do not do business with Temu.”
Reuters is reporting that the two companies are already embroiled in litigation in Chicago federal court, where Shein is challenging Temu – accusing it of working with influencers to belittle Shein on social media. Temu brought an application to dismiss the case. The outcome is still pending.
Fast-fashion retailers targeting the same online shopping audience
The fast-fashion competitors are gunning for the same Gen Z audience. The Chinese founded company Shein, entered the U.S market in 2017 and has a $66 billion valuation.
In 2022 the fast fashion e-commerce scene had many large players. Zara, H&M, Forever 21 all classified as fast fashion brands.
What these two e-commerce companies are trying to achieve – are manufacturing and producing high volumes of clothing at fast rates, offering items at a cheap price.
Shein is already selling volumes of clothing at a cheap price and Temu is aiming to position itself as the preferred fast-fashion retailer with even cheaper prices compared to its rival.
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
