Temu and Shein cost Germany €2.4B

Germany’s fight with Temu and Shein is no longer just a vibes story about cheap dresses and impulse buys. It now has a headline number attached to it — €2.4 billion a year. That figure comes from a new IW Consult study commissioned by Germany’s retail association HDE, which argues that the two platforms are draining value from domestic retail and the wider economy while dodging rules European sellers have to follow. The immediate news is that German retail groups are using that study to push harder for enforcement and, basically, to say this is not normal competition anymore. (einzelhandel.de) ### Where does the €2.4 billion figure come from? It is not a claim about Temu and Shein’s revenue in Germany. It is a value-added estimate — the economic activity Germany loses when shoppers buy from those platforms instead of from businesses o(einzelhandel.de)d other knock-on effects. Other coverage of the same study puts the direct retail sales loss at roughly €2.5 billion and the broader economy-wide hit closer to double that once spillovers are counted. (einzelhandel.de) ### Why are Temu and Shein so hard to ignore? Volume. The study says the two companies send around 460,000 parcels into Germany every day. That matters because a model built on huge parcel counts and ultra-low prices can pressure domestic seller(einzelhandel.de)ant is competing with a very different cost stack. (trademagazin.hu) ### What is Germany saying the platforms are doing wrong? The core complaint is unfair competition through rule-breaking, not just aggressive pricing. HDE says Temu and Shein violate multiple EU rules, which lets them undercut sellers that actually comply. The association has been escalating for months — earl(trademagazin.hu)d properly. That sounds extreme, but it shows how far the German retail lobby has moved from “please regulate this” to “stop the flow if you can’t police it.” (einzelhandel.de) ### Is this just Germany complaining? No — the EU has already moved. The European Commission designated both Temu and Shein for stricter Digital Services Act obligations in 2024, then opened formal proceedings against Temu on October 31, 2024 ov(einzelhandel.de) on DSA compliance. So Germany’s argument is landing in a policy environment that was already turning more hostile. (ec.europa.eu) ### Why does the jobs angle matter? Because this is not only about retailer margins. Coverage of the IW Consult analysis says the damage translates into more than 40,000 lost jobs and hundreds of millions in lost tax revenue for the public sector. Even if you treat those estimates as lobbying ammunition as well(ec.europa.eu)omplaint from shop owners. (dvz-international.com) ### What does this mean for retailers? The obvious trap is trying to beat Temu and Shein on headline price. That is the one game incumbents are least likely to win. The smarter response is to make the tradeoff visible — faster delivery, easier returns, trusted product standards, (dvz-international.com)s tend to thin out. That is also why this story matters beyond Germany — it is a preview of how local retail tries to survive when price becomes almost absurdly low. (ecotextile.com) ### So what is the bottom line? Germany’s retail establishment is trying to turn a competitive threat into an enforcement story. The €2.4 billion number is the political weapon. The deeper point is simpler — once regulators start treating ultra-cheap marketplaces as a compliance problem, not just a consumer bargain, the whole argument shifts. (einzelhandel.de)