E-Commerce Player Temu Files New Suit Against Shein

PDD Holdings' international discount e-commerce platform, Temu, filed a lawsuit in a US District of Columbia court, alleging that rival Shein employed 'Mafia-style intimidation' to coerce suppliers who also worked with Temu, as reported by Casey Hall for Reuters.

The Boston-based company WhaleCo Inc., operating in the US as Temu, alleges that the China-founded, Singapore-based rival Shein misused intellectual property legislation to prevent merchants and suppliers from working with Temu. I Photo: Temu App Download

The Boston-based company WhaleCo Inc., operating in the US as Temu, alleges that the China-founded, Singapore-based rival Shein misused intellectual property legislation to prevent merchants and suppliers from working with Temu.

It also claimed that Shein 'falsely imprisoned' vendors who dealt with Temu by detaining merchant representatives in Shein's offices for many hours, confiscating their electronic devices, and threatening them with penalties for doing business with Temu.

Both firms, with roots in China, have witnessed their businesses booming in the US market in recent years, as inflation and cost-of-living pressures have attracted consumers to low-cost e-commerce offerings, such as Shein's $5 T-shirts and Temu's $3 earphones.

The bulk of suppliers for both companies are in China, and a spokesperson for Temu confirmed that the alleged infractions involved Chinese vendors.

WEEKLY FEATURE : Jose Mari Chan And The Christmas Anthem