Temu, the online marketplace challenging rivals Shein and Amazon, is facing a backlash from suppliers in China over its aggressive effort to radically reshape its business model. The Chinese group, owned by $177bn ecommerce giant PDD Holdings, had in recent weeks sought to recruit Amazon merchants who hold goods in warehouses in the US and EU, according to several suppliers approached by Temu who spoke to the Financial Times.
Bernstein analysts forecast that this year Temu will generate $54bn of gross merchandise revenue — the total value of goods sold on its platform — up from an estimated $17bn in 2023. But these people added that the company’s pricing tactics make them reluctant to shift to the semi-managed model. “We could take on all this cost and then find that our product doesn’t sell when it gets to the US,” said Bing.