---
endpoint: analytics
pattern: Internet
status: done
latency_ms: 158086
conversation_id: dde15552-9d88-4198-8092-78e9690b86f1
citations: 14
created: 2026-05-31 21:15:22Z
---

# Who are the key customers and suppliers of PDD?

# PDD Holdings — Key Customers & Suppliers

PDD Holdings operates a two-sided e-commerce marketplace (domestic Pinduoduo + global Temu), so "customers" here refers to **consumers/users**, and "suppliers" refers to the **merchant/manufacturer base** (PDD is asset-light and does not own most inventory). Note: PDD launched a new **first-party brand business** in March 2026 with an initial RMB 15bn cash injection, which is starting to make the company a direct buyer from suppliers in selected categories [4].

---

## 1. Key Customers (End-Demand)

### A) Domestic — Chinese Consumers (Pinduoduo platform)
- The primary user base remains **Chinese consumers**, with PDD increasingly focused on penetration of **lower-tier cities and rural villages**. Management is rolling out **"free shipping to villages"** to bring rural consumers into the addressable market, building **transit warehouses at county level and pickup points at village level** [7]. Daily order volume at these transfer warehouses has approached 10,000 orders [shown in transcript, see logistics section].
- Competition for the same consumer pool comes from Alibaba (Taobao/Tmall), JD.com, Douyin, and Kuaishou — competitors have launched "Billion Subsidies" programs to penetrate mass/low-tier users [14].

### B) Global — Temu Users (~100 markets)
Temu has scaled to **nearly 100 markets** and reached meaningful scale within three years of launch [6][5].

| Region | Share of Temu MAU (May 2025) |
|---|---|
| Europe | 28% |
| South America | 26% |
| US | 14% |
| Others | 16% |
| ASEAN | 8% |
| Middle East | 7% |
| Japan + South Korea | 1% |

Source: Sensor Tower / CLSA [11]

- **Temu global mobile MAUs reached 408m in May 2025 (118% of Amazon)**, but US users fell 30% from March to May 2025 to 41m, after the US removed the De Minimis Tax Exemption and hiked tariffs in early April [9]. Daily US GMV dropped ~50% post the tariff hike.
- US contribution to Temu's user base has fallen to ~10% of global MAU, with growth pivoting to **South America** (now Temu's top market) and **Southeast Asia** [9].
- **Competitive set** vs Temu — top cross-border consumer-facing rivals (download-share basis, Sensor Tower):

| Month | TEMU | AliExpress | SHEIN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov-24 | 119 | 114 | 70 |
| Mar-25 | 82 | 98 | 61 |
| May-25 | 81 | 102 | 63 |

Source: Sensor Tower / CLSA [13]

---

## 2. Key Suppliers (Merchant/Manufacturer Base)

PDD's supplier base falls into two large pools, both heavily concentrated in **Chinese SME manufacturers** and **agricultural producers**.

### A) Agricultural Producers — "Duoduo Premium Produce" / "DuoDuo Local Specialties"
PDD has direct sourcing/support relationships with specific agricultural production regions across China. Named regions in management commentary include:
- **Anyue lemons, Pu'er coffee, Wuhan seeds, Meizhou pomelos, Wenshan blueberries, Fuzhou abalone, Lianyungang seaweed** (Q4 FY25 visited regions) [1]
- **Nanning oranges, Hainan pineapples** (Q1 FY26 first-phase rollout of the deepened value-chain program covering planting, cold-chain logistics, and deep processing) — funded via the long-running **RMB 100bn merchant support program** [3].

### B) Industrial-Belt SME Manufacturers ("New Quality Supply" program)
Named industrial clusters / supplier regions:
- **Yiwu accessories, Pinghu down jackets, Hunan spicy snacks, Anhui roasted seeds, Tianjin potato chips, Zhongshan small appliances, Shanghai chocolate** (Q4 FY25) [1]
- **Zhangzhou snacks, Zhengzhou skincare** (Q1 FY26 newer rounds) — these clusters are the source for the "branded products" Temu sells globally [3].
- A frequently cited example: the **Zhongshan lighting industry** — PDD covers transhipping fees so a large ceiling light shipped to Gansu costs the merchant a fraction of the prior RMB 40–50, and many merchants are seeing **>30% annual order growth into western provinces** [2].
- PDD describes its suppliers as evolving from "traditional OEM factories…moving beyond basic productions, investing in product development, technology, branding, and distribution channels" — i.e., **white-label SME contract manufacturers** [8].

### C) Strategic Pivot — First-Party Brand Supplier Integration (Mar 2026)
PDD has begun a deeper structural relationship with the SME supply chain via the new first-party brand entity: PDD "**provide[s] a certainty of sales volume to the supply chain and empower[s] the manufacturers to confidently invest in R&D and process innovation**" — effectively shifting from a marketplace-only model to also being a **direct buyer/brand owner** sourcing from its industrial-belt OEM/ODM base [4].

### D) Risks Around the Supplier Relationship
CLSA flagged that PDD's domestic revenue growth decelerated to ~6% YoY in 1Q25 because of a **0.7ppt take-rate decline used to subsidise merchants** — i.e., PDD voluntarily reduced what it extracts from its supplier base to retain them in a more competitive landscape [9][10]. PDD also **subsidised SME merchants out of its own pocket** to match domestic peers' trade-in subsidised prices on appliances, 3Cs, and daily goods [10]. Going forward, the main strategic risks identified are **competition from rivals' Billion Subsidies programs** and **Temu's regulatory/tariff exposure overseas** (antitrust, data security, de minimis removal) [14][12].

---

## Summary Table

| Side | Category | Specific Examples |
|---|---|---|
| **Customers — Domestic** | Pinduoduo consumers (China, including lower-tier/rural) | "Free shipping to villages" program, county/village pickup infra [7] |
| **Customers — Global** | Temu users across ~100 markets [6] | 408m global MAUs (May 2025); Europe 28%, South America 26%, US 14% [9][11] |
| **Suppliers — Agriculture** | Duoduo Premium Produce regions | Anyue lemons, Pu'er coffee, Meizhou pomelos, Wenshan blueberries, Fuzhou abalone, Lianyungang seaweed, Nanning oranges, Hainan pineapples [1][3] |
| **Suppliers — Industrial belts** | Chinese SME / OEM clusters | Yiwu accessories, Pinghu down jackets, Zhongshan lighting & small appliances, Shanghai chocolate, Tianjin potato chips, Hunan spicy snacks, Zhangzhou snacks, Zhengzhou skincare [1][2] |
| **Suppliers — First-party brand** | Direct sourcing from OEM/ODM industrial-belt partners | Mar 2026 dedicated company in Shanghai, RMB 15bn initial cash injection [4] |
| **Temu competing platforms** | (Read-across: same supplier pool) | AliExpress, SHEIN, Amazon [11][13] |

---

**Sources**
[1] PDD Holdings, Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call (25-Mar-2026) — DuoDuo Local Specialties agricultural regions
[2] PDD Holdings, Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call (27-May-2026) — Zhongshan lighting case study
[3] PDD Holdings, Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call (27-May-2026) — RMB 100bn merchant support program
[4] PDD Holdings, Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call (27-May-2026) — First-party brand model & supply chain
[5] PDD Holdings, Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call (27-May-2026) — Global business / consumers worldwide
[6] PDD Holdings, Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call (25-Mar-2026) — Nearly 100 markets
[7] PDD Holdings, Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call (25-Mar-2026) — Free delivery to villages program
[8] PDD Holdings, Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call (27-May-2026) — OEM factories moving up value chain
[9] PDD — O-PF (Challenging time) — CLSA (27-May-2025), 607960697LinqAlpha.PDF — Temu 408m MAU & US decline
[10] PDD — O-PF (Challenging time) — CLSA (27-May-2025), 607960697LinqAlpha.PDF — SME merchant subsidies & take-rate decline
[11] PDD — O-PF (Challenging time) — CLSA (27-May-2025), 607960697LinqAlpha.PDF — Temu MAU region breakdown
[12] PDD — O-PF (Challenging time) — CLSA (27-May-2025), 607960697LinqAlpha.PDF — Semi-consignment & ad spend pivot
[13] PDD — O-PF (Challenging time) — CLSA (27-May-2025), 607960697LinqAlpha.PDF — Temu vs AliExpress vs SHEIN
[14] PDD — O-PF (Challenging time) — CLSA (27-May-2025), 607960697LinqAlpha.PDF — Investment risks

## Citations

- [1] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q4 2025 Earnings Call, 25-March-2026 7** · external
- [2] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 27-May-2026 7** · external
- [3] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 27-May-2026 7** · external
- [4] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 27-May-2026 7** · external
- [5] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 27-May-2026 7** · external
- [6] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q4 2025 Earnings Call, 25-March-2026 7** · external
- [7] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q4 2025 Earnings Call, 25-March-2026 7** · external
- [8] **PDD Holdings, Inc., Q1 2026 Earnings Call, 27-May-2026 7** · external
- [9] **607960697LinqAlpha.PDF** · clsa — <s3://ext-linq-rms-clsa/2025/04/607960697LinqAlpha.PDF>
- [10] **607960697LinqAlpha.PDF** · clsa — <s3://ext-linq-rms-clsa/2025/04/607960697LinqAlpha.PDF>
- [11] **607960697LinqAlpha.PDF** · clsa — <s3://ext-linq-rms-clsa/2025/04/607960697LinqAlpha.PDF>
- [12] **607960697LinqAlpha.PDF** · clsa — <s3://ext-linq-rms-clsa/2025/04/607960697LinqAlpha.PDF>
- [13] **607960697LinqAlpha.PDF** · clsa — <s3://ext-linq-rms-clsa/2025/04/607960697LinqAlpha.PDF>
- [14] **607960697LinqAlpha.PDF** · clsa — <s3://ext-linq-rms-clsa/2025/04/607960697LinqAlpha.PDF>

