Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest retail news throughout the Asian retail market on a daily base. According to Latepost, Xingsheng Youxuan, a community group buying start-up company, is going to complete a funding round of USD 3 billion led by Sequoia Capital, followed by Tencent, Fangyuan Capital, Temasek, KKR, DCP, Chunhua Capital and Evergrande. Headquartered in central China’s Hunan province, three-year-old Xingsheng Youxuan delivers online bulk orders to offline grocery stores located inside or near residential communities.
Headquartered in central China’s Hunan province, three-year-old Xingsheng Youxuan delivers online bulk orders to offline grocery stores located inside or near residential communities. Companies that are a subset of e-commerce that introduce social elements into the crypto flagged rugpull transfers online purchasing experience. This includes peer-to-peer selling, group buying, influencer networks , and technology that enables social selling. Founded three years ago, Xingsheng Youxuan fulfills online bulk orders to grocery stores in or near residential areas.
As the group-buying model is spreading like a wildfire across China’s numerous urban clusters, it also grabbed the attention of regulators. State media has criticized the investments by the internet giants as a lazy method of monetizing user traffic. Commentators suggested that the companies should rather focus on core technological innovation.
Xingsheng Youxuan operates in 13 provinces and covers more than 6,000 counties and 30,000 towns. In July 2020, Xingsheng Youxuan raised USD 800 million in Series C financing, led by KKR, followed by Sequoia China, Tencent, Today Capital, Huaxingxin Economic Fund and Zhongding Capital. After this round of financing, Xingsheng Youxuan’s valuation reached USD 4 billion. The firm’s latest round was raised in December 2020 worth USD 700 million from Jingdong. However, despite its advantage after years of operating local supermarkets, the firm is surrounded by tech giants—including Meituan, Didi, and Pinduduo—that are coveting the business to generate new revenue sources.
An increase in demand for grocery delivery in China in the past year comes on the back of a change in consumer habits and Covid-19 social distancing regulations, with many opting to order from the comfort of their own homes. Led by Sequoia Capital China, investors in the billion-dollar round included Private equity firms FountainVest Partners, Primavera Capital Group and KKR & Co, as well as internet giant Tencent Holdings, which is a current backer of Xingsheng Youxuan. Chris Sun joined KKR in 2007 and is a Partner on the Private Equity team focused on Greater China, also working extensively on other initiatives of the firm including Asia Next Generation Technology and Global Impact. Mr. Sun currently sits on the Board of Directors for Yuehai Feed Group, Gambol Pet Group, Jiangsu Yuguan, Xingsheng Youxuan, Huohua Logic, Quanyi Pharmacy and Adopt A Cow. Mr. Sun also played a significant role in advising on the firm’s investments in Modern Dairy, VATS Liquor Chain, Asia Dairy, COFCO Meat, Sunner Development, ByteDance, and Natural Pet Food Group.
Representatives for Sequoia China, FountainVest, Tencent and Temasek declined to comment. Storylines Follow Bloomberg reporters as they uncover some of the biggest financial crimes of the modern era. This documentary-style series follows investigative journalists as they uncover the truth. The current funding round could precede an IPO though timing and listing venue are still not finalised. Founded in 2018 as an e-commerce unit of Hunan local supermarket chain Furong Xingsheng, Xingsheng Youxuan leverages on the group-buying model that provides groceries at bargain prices to residents who live near each other. In 2020, its gross merchandise value exceeded RMB 40 billion (USD 6.17 billion), almost four times the volume from the prior year, boosted by the pandemic.
