Ping An VC unit leads $55m round for China luxury goods site

Founded in 2011, Secco sells global brands via its cross-border platform, including watches, bags, jewelry and cars. The start-up opened its first physical store in Beijing in 2011 and then later added three more in different Chinese cities. It also has showrooms in Hong Kong, Milan, New York and Tokyo, providing maintenance services to customers.

In July last year, the company raised more than $100 million in a Series D round led by CMC Capital Partners. Existing investors IDG Capital Partners, Ventech Capital, Crehol Capital and Vangoo Capital Partners also participated. In addition, Silicon Valley Bank has provided a credit line to the company worth tens of millions of dollars.

Prior to that, Secco raised an undisclosed sum in a Series C round led by Japan's Vangoo in August 2013, this had followed by a $30 million round that included Bertelsmann China Holding, Crehol, Ventech Capital and IDG Capital Partners in 2012. IDG committed $10 million to the e-commerce platform in 2011.

The net proceeds from the latest financing will be used to enhance the firm's products and services and increase the brand awareness in the market, it said in a release.

Ping An Ventures was set up in 2012 with a RMB1 billion ($157 million) capital injection from its group. The VC unit invests in start-ups in the areas of financial services, consumer products, healthcare, automobile, and tech, media and telecom.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Technology
• Venture
• Expansion
• China
• e-commerce
• Consumer
• TMT
• Ping An
• Growth capital