The rise of Pinduoduo and Temu: profits and secrets [Video]

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When you start looking at Pinduoduo you very quickly realise this is not a normal company.

So there’s a lot of mystery around the company with a great deal of secretiveness around how it runs.

PDD went from zero market share to, we think now, slightly over 20 per cent of the market.

Its numbers suggest a reimagining of what people once thought was possible in the world of complex, retail logistics.

It’s incredibly cheap, and it’s also fun.

But at the same time there are lots of questions about it, the way it was founded, the way it’s structured, the way it interacts with investors. And those questions, some investors might see as red flags.

Pinduoduo is essentially an online marketplace, and it’s really pioneered being an online dollar store, having all different types of goods, no brands, all cheap prices.

It’s grown by just bringing these cheap prices to consumers that can’t afford branded and …