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When DIVCHI, a UK gardening tools brand, launched an online store on Temu last February – just before planting season – sales flourished beyond expectations.
As soon as we listed on Temu, sales just boomed. Orders poured in to the point that we ran out of stock.
– Vicky Hemdev, founder, DIVCHI
DIVCHI is among the growing wave of British sellers choosing to sell on Temu, an e-commerce platform attracting local businesses with a low-cost sales channel, simplified operations and global reach.
During the pandemic, Vicky spotted an opportunity in gardening: demand was strong, but supply was tight. They moved fast to fill the gap, gaining early success on major marketplaces — until competitors caught on and flooded in.
But competition wasn’t their only challenge. For merchants like Hemdev, the biggest struggle has been profitability. Their major profits are taken away by advertising and the fees with platforms charging to get visibility. They spend about £2,000 to £4,000 a day on such costs, which eat into margins.
When Vicky heard that Temu was opening its platform to local UK sellers, they decided to explore the opportunity. The difference was immediate. With Temu’s model, Vicky simply calculates costs and adds his profit margin. Temu handles the rest, with no additional costs. They were struck by how efficient and transparent the formula is.
Soon after their Temu store went live, daily sales topped £10,000 — until inventory ran out. Caught off guard by the surge, Vicky urged manufacturing partners to ramp up production, specifically for their Temu orders.
Aside from improved profitability and strong sales, working with Temu has simplified DIVCHI’s operations and reduced overheads. While they need dedicated staff to manage advertising and price adjustments on other platforms, their Temu store, by contrast, runs with minimal intervention.
The advertising systems on those platforms are complex, with fee structures that make it difficult for Vicky to gauge returns across their broad catalogue, with worries that some of their top-performing products get buried by platform algorithms. Temu, on the other hand, boosts best-sellers without requiring extra ad spend.
Market intelligence agency Mintel reports that in 2024, the UK garden products market was worth over £8.5 billion. The strong market demand, together with his positive experience on Temu, has given Vicky the confidence to scale up.
DIVCHI is now placing larger orders with suppliers and expanding their footprint in Bradford, where they recently purchased an additional 10,000-square-foot warehouse, on top of the 60,000 square feet facility they already operates. Their workforce is also growing, both locally and abroad, to meet rising demand from Temu.
Temu’s pricing model lets DIVCHI offer many products for half the price they charge elsewhere – British consumers who shop on direct distribution platforms like Temu are saving up to £3,000 a year, according to economic consultancy Cebr. A recent Ipsos survey commissioned by Temu found that over 80% of British users say Temu offers good value for money, and 1 in 3 respondents said Temu helped them explore decorating their home.
To make the most of the sales momentum, DIVCHI is expanding their catalogue, including moving into toys — a category that demands stricter compliance. To ensure safety, they send the products for testing and qualification before importing them. Temu works with global testing agencies like TÜV SÜD, TÜV Rheinland, SGS, Eurofins and Bureau Veritas to ensure products sold on its platform meet the required regulatory standards.
With a solid supply chain and Temu’s global reach, DIVCHI is now eyeing Germany as their next market. Across Europe, up to 80% of total sales are projected to follow this local-to-local model.
For businesses sitting on the fence, my advice is simple. Get on board.
– Vicky Hemdev, founder, DIVCHI
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