Welcome to the latest invasion; it’s not TikTok but Shein & Temu!

It’s hard to imagine that 4 of the top 8 U.S. iPhone App Store apps are from China. While TikTok and Capcut make the list, the two big surprises are e-commerce juggernauts Temu and Shein.  These companies operate unique, manufacturer-to-customer business models and do not manufacture products; they simply work with armies of factories throughout China to use powerful algorithms to serve up a plethora of options. Shein reached an estimated $24 billion in revenue in 2022, while Temu reached 161 million users worldwide. What’s the future of these two platforms? How will Amazon respond? Ali and Bryce discuss this phenomenon. 

1. Why have these two platforms become so popular? How do they work? How are they different?
2. What makes these platforms uniquely Chinese? What things are similar to their Chinese platforms?
3.  How is Temu disrupting the market, given that it doesn’t sell recognized brands and people have to wait to get its stuff?
4.  Advantage Shein: consumer-responsive fashion
5. Given its incredibly responsive manufacturing model, will Shein develop more up-market products or stay on the low end?
6. Morgan Stanley says that Temu’s growth is non-sustainable. Will Amazon pick up the slack?
7.  How will Temu impact China’s manufacturing tiers? Will it enable them to sell name brands and compete against Amazon?
8.  Does Temu need to deliver a group-buy model to survive against Amazon?
9. Will Costco-style value brands emerge from the Temu model?
10.  The importance of time spent on the platform and how it will impact Temu/Shein’s business performance.

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ShanghaiZhan Theme Music:  by Bryce Whitwam
https://soundcloud.com/bryce-r-whitwam/bad-cough-syrup?si=cfb30a6e0c0e459da78b912bf60825ac

Bryce on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/brycewhitwam/
Ali on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alikazmi/