Temu, a Chinese e-commerce site that competes with online fast fashion retailer Shein, is setting up an Irish base as it plans to enter the European market.
DD Holdings, the Chinese tech giant behind online retailer Pinduoduo, founded Temu in 2022 to target Western markets.
Launched in the US last September, it sells budget clothing and accessories from Chinese suppliers.
Temu is now on his way to Europe. It has recently established an Irish unit and started recruiting for posts in Dublin.
It is looking for tax managers, auditors and legal professionals specializing in data protection and product security compliance.
According to the vacancy notices, the vacancies relate to the St Stephen’s Green location.
Temu did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite only launching last September, Temu has managed to gain significant traction in the US.
Within the first four months, it grew to more than 44 million unique viewers, according to Comscore.
Shein is currently bringing a case against Temu in US courts, alleging they paid social media influencers to make “false and misleading statements” about Shein.
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Temu has invested heavily in marketing its fast fashion through the social media app TikTok, which is where much of its young demographic can be found. It also uses traditional advertising and had aired an ad last month during the US Super Bowl.
Temu’s parent company is currently valued at $119 billion
Chinese online clothing retailers have expanded aggressively in Europe and North America.
Shein specializes in selling clothing at very low prices, undercutting much of the competition to gain significant e-commerce market share globally.
Reuters reported last week that Shein is in the midst of a fundraising round and is targeting up to $2 billion, with the UAE sovereign wealth fund spearheading the investment.
Shein has also hired a local team in Dublin, while Temu is also reportedly planning to launch operations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as part of its aggressive expansion.
Temu’s parent company, PDD Holdings, went public on Nasdaq in 2018 and is currently valued at $119 billion (EUR 112 billion).
It used to be called Pinduoduo, its flagship service – but last month it changed the name of its parent company. The company will report its latest quarterly results tomorrow.
