PDD’s Temu opens shop in Europe with 6 new markets as it rapidly expands to take on rivals Shein, ByteDance

Pinduoduo’s international sibling Temu has launched in France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the UK, bringing its total markets to 10
The budget shopping platform has been expanding rapidly since launching in the US in September as it tries to outrun more entrenched rivals

E-commerce

Tracy Quin Shanghai

Published: 2:09pm, 24 Apr 2023

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PDD Holdings’ budget shopping app Temu, Pinduoduo’s international sibling, has entered the European market, another step in its rapid global expansion.

The platform is now operating in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, bringing the total number of countries where it operates to 10, according to Temu’s website.

Temu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The app first launched in September in the US, where it operates out of Boston. Earlier this year, it expanded to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. News first broke last month that it was planning a launch in the UK.

Similar to the strategy of Shanghai-based Pinduoduo, Temu features a wide selection of budget-priced items, with some of the cheapest small gadgets and home decor items costing less than US$1.

The app is among a new crop of Chinese e-commerce apps targeting overseas users, leading to fierce competition. In February, Temu splurged on a 30-second Super Bowl ad featuring its “Shop Like a Billionaire” campaign, paying for it to air twice during the American football game – one of the most-watched television broadcasts in the US.

Throughout the first quarter of the year, Temu has maintained its initial momentum. The app added 19 million downloads for the period, bringing its total to 33 million since its launch, according to mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

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By the end of the first quarter, Shein, the Chinese-founded fast fashion retailer, and Temu had 23 million and 17 million monthly active users (MAUs), respectively, Sensor Tower data showed. TikTok, the viral short video platform owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is also investing heavily in e-commerce.

Liu Jun, the vice-president of finance at Nasdaq-listed PDD, said during a conference call last month that Temu’s fourth-quarter financial impact was relatively small given that it had just been launched.

“The most essential thing for us right now is to build our own unique value over the long run,” Liu said. “Over time, financial metrics are just a reflection of the value we can generate.”