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Temu (PDD-3.83%), the Chinese e-commerce giant known for affordable goods and labor complaints, is recruiting employees from major competitors — including Amazon and Walmart — in order to aggressively expand its U.S. seller network.
As Temu focuses on expanding in the U.S., it’s tapping into talent with experience at leading e-commerce giants. Many of the new hires, including at least a dozen from Amazon (AMZN+0.37%), previously held similar business-development roles at U.S.-based rivals, according to Business Insider.
Other recent Temu hires have reportedly come from Walmart and TikTok.
A Temu spokesperson told Quartz that it has “been expanding [its] team to help bring more U.S. sellers onto the platform” and boost sales. This hiring push is part of Temu’s broader strategy to scale its marketplace, and it comes as the U.S. imposes 20% tariffs on Chinese imports.
To reduce their’ impact, Temu is ramping up efforts to promote items sold by U.S.-based sellers and stored in U.S. warehouses, allowing it to bypass tariffs that affect direct shipments from China. By using local warehouses, Temu can also work to speed up its delivery speeds. The offshoot of PDD Holdings recently reported better-than-expected earnings, gaining favor with Wall Street.
Shein has adopted a similar strategy, using warehouses in states such as California and New Jersey to store inventory closer to U.S. shoppers. While this approach helps Shein and Temu compete with larger U.S. companies like Amazon, it also means working with less inventory than they would if they relied more on centralized warehouses in China.
While Amazon’s delivery infrastructure is unmatched in the U.S., delivering over 9 billion items via same-day or next-day delivery in 2024, its freshly launched Temu clone, dubbed Haul, has struggled to capture the attention of bargain-hunting consumers. Recent data from software company Omnisend found that Haul has received a lukewarm reception since its debut, lagging behind Chinese e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein.
Focusing on local inventory will help Temu and Shein improve delivery speeds – a critical advantage in the competitive e-commerce space. While Amazon still leads in delivery, Temu and the like are making strides that could give them the muscle to compete.