Temu CEO Chen Lei has defended his company's alleged copyright infringement, stating that "counterfeiting is the sincerest form of flattery" when it comes to Shein's trendsetting fashion designs.
The comments come as part of Temu's response to a scathing lawsuit filed by Shein, which accuses the upstart retailer of being "an unlawful enterprise built on counterfeiting, theft of trade secrets, infringement of intellectual property rights, and fraud."
"Look, we're just paying homage to Shein's incredible ability to spot the latest fast fashion crazes and get those cheap, trendy items on the market before anyone else," Chen told reporters during a hastily called press conference. "If anything, we're helping them by spreading their influence even further."
Chen went on to argue that Temu's "copycat" products were simply a form of flattery, explaining that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."
When pressed on the specifics of Shein's allegations, including claims that Temu had "pretended to be Shein on Twitter" and used the brand's trademark in Google ads, Chen dismissed them as minor oversights.
"Sure, maybe we got a bit carried away with our marketing tactics," he conceded. "But at the end of the day, we're just trying to provide consumers with the same type of dirt-cheap, questionably-sourced fashion that Shein has pioneered. It's all part of the same race to the bottom, really."
Chen concluded his remarks by urging Shein to view the lawsuit as a "sincere form of flattery" and to instead focus its efforts on staying ahead of the curve in the fast-moving world of ultra-cheap online retail.
"After all," he said with a wink, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And we all know how that one turned out."
