Chinese e-retailer Temu files lawsuit in US against rival Shein, alleging antitrust violations

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Chinese e-commerce retailer Temu has filed a lawsuit accusing its rival Shein of violating U.S. antitrust law by blocking clothing manufacturers from working with Temu

HONG KONG — Chinese e-commerce retailer Temu has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts accusing its rival Shein of violating U.S. antitrust law by preventing garment makers from working with it.

Temu, which is owned by popular Chinese e-commerce site Pinduoduo Inc., is alleging that Shein has compelled clothing manufacturers to submit to unfair supply chain arrangements preventing them from working with Temu after it entered the U.S. market in 2022.

Shein (SHE-in) and Temu (TEE-mu) are fast-rising online shopping platforms. Shein has grabbed the largest share of the fast fashion market in the U.S., at over 50%, according to Temu's complaint. Temu is the most downloaded app in the U.S., according to the website data.ai, formerly App Annie, which tracks app rankings. It offers everything from apparel to household goods at similarly competitive prices.

“Shein has engaged in a campaign of threats, intimidation, false assertions of infringement, and attempts to impose baseless punitive fines and has forced exclusive dealing arrangements on clothing manufacturers,” according to the complaint Temu filed on July 14 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

In an emailed statement, Temu said that Shein also punished merchants that worked with Temu by imposing “extrajudicial fines" and forced retailers to assign their intellectual property rights to Shein, which could then seek to enforce these rights against those who also operate on Temu.

“For a long time, we have exercised significant restraint and refrained from pursuing legal actions. However,