Startup e-commerce platform Temu is expanding its operations to Europe

By Casey Hall

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – PDD Holdings’ ultra-low-cost e-commerce platform Temu has started selling to European markets including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Temu.com now displays all of these markets in the location drop-down menu, in addition to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where it was previously available.

PDD Holdings did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the expansion.

Ago, the sister site of Chinese discount e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, has made a splash since it launched in the United States last September, selling shoes, jewelry, beauty accessories and home goods directly from Chinese sellers at very low prices.

It’s a similar cross-border model to the one that has made Shein, which ships to more than 150 countries, the world’s largest fast-fashion brand with annual sales of more than $58.5 billion.

Boston-based Temu recorded 19 million downloads in the first quarter of this year in the U.S., according to Sensor Tower, a mobile analytics company, which puts Temu among the most downloaded apps on the Apple and Google Play stores in the United States.

According to data firm YipitData, the platform’s gross merchandise value – total sales before expenses – rose from $3 million in September to $192 million in January.

(This story has been corrected to remove incorrect reference to Chinese-owned PDD Holdings in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)