Patrick Zahn, CEO of KiK
KiK boss Patrick Zahn criticizes unfair competition from shopping portals such as Temu and Shein. He makes serious accusations against the Asian platforms – which defend themselves against the statements.
KiK boss Patrick Zahn complains that politicians are taking too lax a crackdown on Asian shopping portals such as Shein and Temu. “We are very confused that it is even possible for such providers to operate on the market and not comply with the law,” he said to members of the Business Journalists Association in Düsseldorf. This is “a blatant injustice.”
From Zahn’s point of view, Shein and Temu benefit from inadmissible competitive advantages, for example when it comes to customs. The Asian online platforms mainly use air freight. For orders from non-EU countries, no import fees have to be paid for packages with a value of less than 150 euros. The head of the trading company KiK considers this to be unfair. “We also pay customs duties.” Foreign suppliers who trade in Europe would have to do the same the other way round. According to Zahn, customs are completely overwhelmed by the situation. “The majority of packages come into Belgium via Liège. Every day between 400,000 and 500,000 packages from Temu and Shein arrive there. There are six customs officers there. That means the inspection rate is zero.” It is therefore necessary to check packages from Asia more strictly. “It’s strange how we apply double standards,” says Zahn. The supply chain law demands a lot from European companies, but not from portals like Shein and Temu. Politicians are aware of this, but they do not address the problem.
Zahn believes the regulations are incomplete: “Our products have to be recalled if samples show that something is wrong, but Temu and Shein do not. They all follow the rules, but these two do not.” If this is not guaranteed, the portals have no place on the European market. “What is absolutely unacceptable, even from a consumer perspective, is that goods contaminated with pollutants and produced using child labor can be sold here,” says Zahn.
Shein: “Zero tolerance policy towards child labour”
The portal Shein commented on the allegations. The company has “a zero-tolerance policy towards child labor,” said a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency. Violations are treated with “utmost seriousness.” According to the company, two cases of child labor were recently discovered in its own supply chain in 2023. Orders from manufacturers were then suspended and an investigation was initiated. The cases were quickly resolved and contracts were also terminated, it said. Temu defended itself against Zahn’s allegations. “We work with our retailers to ensure that their products meet all applicable safety standards and regulations,” said a spokesperson. Temu is committed to adhering to ethical labor practices. The company’s code of conduct prohibits “any form of forced, child or penal labor and requires compliance with all local labor laws.”
The magazine “Öko-Test” recently examined Shein’s articles. According to a report published in August, many items of clothing failed the test, with some containing toxic chemicals. Among other things, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected. Shein explained: “We take the results of Öko-Test very seriously.” Suppliers are required to have strict controls and standards that are based on European and global regulations, said a spokeswoman. Last year, 400,000 chemical tests were carried out to ensure that the standards were met.
The online retailers Shein and Temu are very popular in Germany. Their success is putting established retailers under pressure. According to an estimate by the Textile, Shoes and Leather Goods Trade Association, consumers in Germany bought around a billion fashion items and shoes from providers such as Shein and Temu last year. However, the portals are controversial. Consumer advocates, politicians and representatives of the retail industry criticize product quality, misleading complaint procedures and manipulative practices, among other things, and advocate for stricter rules.
