Temu: UK sales and profit double as Shein court battle looms
Sales and profit at the UK arm of Chinese online marketplace Temu almost doubled during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.
For 2024, the division achieved a revenue of $63.2m (£46.3m), up from the $32.1m it achieved in 2023.
New accounts filed with Companies House also show its pre-tax profit jumped from $2m to $3.9m over the same 12-month period.
The results for Temu’s UK arm come ahead of a trial at London’s High Court between the company and online fast-fashion giant Shein due to start in 2026.
The case comes after the rivals traded allegations of copyright infringement and anti-competitive behaviour in competing lawsuits.
In 2023, Shein sued Temu in the UK in a move which accused Whaleco UK of breach of copyright in relation to photos of some products available on the Temu platform.
Whaleco UK is ultimately owned by Temu’s owner PDD Holdings.
However, Temu hit back with a counterclaim in February 2024 in which it accused Shein of breaking British competition law by attempting to tie suppliers of fast-fashion products to exclusive agreements.
Temu said the claim – which Shein denies – values it at £4.2m.
In November 2024, a preliminary hearing was held while the cases are expected to come to trial at the High Court towards the end of 2026.
Rivals lobby for Temu tax hole to be closed
The results for Temu’s UK division also come after the head of Zara’s parent company called in May for a US-style crackdown on shipments of small goods in Europe to “level the playing field” between Chinese and European firms.
Shein and Temu have heavily disrupted the global fashion market in the last few years, putting pressure on older companies.
Part of their meteoric rise has been a reliance on a tax loophole called ‘de minimis’, which allows packages of small goods to be imported free from customs duty.
More than 30 per cent of the shipments to America using the ‘de minimus’ rule last year were from Shein and Temu.
Speaking to BBC News at the time, Oscar Garcia Maceira said: “What we have been asking for is a level playing field… in order to have the same set of rules for any single for any single competitors.”
On 2 April, Trump closed the loophole for goods shipped directly from China and Hong Kong, and the UK has put the policy under review.
George Weston, CEO of Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods, has also said ending the loophole would be a “positive step” for British businesses.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts also urged the UK government to close the loophole as soon as possible to avoid the risk of lower quality goods being rerouted from the United States to Europe as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Currys chief executive Alex Baldock told the Financial Times that there were already signs of “stock being diverted into European markets in a straightforward dumping way”.