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According to the filing, Boston-based company WhaleCo Inc, which
operates in the U.S. as Temu, alleges China-founded,
Singapore-based rival Shein misused intellectual property
legislation to stop merchants and suppliers working with Temu.
It also claimed Shein "falsely imprisoned" vendors who dealt
with Temu by detaining merchant representatives in Shein's
offices for many hours, confiscating their electronic devices
and threatening them with penalties for doing business with Temu.
Shein did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the
lawsuit on Thursday.
Both firms, which have roots in China, have seen their
businesses boom in the U.S. market in recent years as inflation
and cost-of-living pressures have helped attract consumers to
low-cost e-commerce offerings, such as Shein's $5 T-shirts and
Temu's $3 earphones.
The bulk of suppliers for both companies are in China and a
spokesperson for Temu confirmed the alleged infractions involved
Chinese vendors.
"We sued Shein because recently their actions have escalated.
They began to illegally detain merchants, forcibly asking for
their phones, stealing our merchant accounts and passwords,
stealing our business secrets, and simultaneously forcing
merchants to leave our platform," the spokesperson said.
The lawsuit also alleges that Shein poached Temu's key marketing
and advertising personnel. It did not specify where they were
based.
This is not the first time the fierce rivals have traded barbs
in legal suits filed in U.S. courts. Both companies withdrew
actions filed against one another in October without giving a
reason.
Shein's previous U.S. lawsuit against Temu alleged Temu told
social media influencers to make disparaging remarks about the
fast-fashion retailer, and tricked customers into downloading
the Temu app using "imposter" social media accounts.
In July, Temu filed its own lawsuit in Boston federal court,
accusing Shein of violating U.S. antitrust law in its dealings
with clothing manufacturers.
Last month, Shein confidentially filed to list publicly in New
York in what could be a $90 billion float, renewing scrutiny of
its business practices and supply chain.
(Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Brenda Goh and Jamie Freed)
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