KPCB leads $20m round for China cross-border retail player
KPCB has led a $20 million Series B funding round for BorderX Lab, a US-based e-commerce services company that helps global retailers connect with Chinese consumers.
Other investors included Hillhouse Capital, China Broadband Capital, Welight Capital and iFly Venture Capital. The funding will support international growth and the creation of new platform functions, as well as improvements to customer service and a staff expansion across the US and China.
"We've removed the hassle of trying to buy authentic goods directly for millions of consumers and of having to deal with currency, language and cultural issues,” Albert Shen, CEO and co-founder of BorderX, said in a statement. “Now, with the support of KPCB and our other major investment partners, we'll be able to grow our team and business and provide even better service for our merchants and users."
Founded in 2014, BorderX focuses on connecting US and European brands with China’s middle-class consumers in product categories including fashion, beauty, healthcare, and lifestyle. It offers access to a catalog of some five million products from more than 50 merchant partners via an Android app that has been downloaded at least three million times.
Services are supported by artificial intelligence and focus on interactivity and marketing optimization. The company claims to be the leader in the US-Europe-China cross-border retail services segment, having facilitated tens of millions of transactions during 2017 and achieving profitability in the third quarter of the year.
BorderX’s seller services-focused offering aims to add value to the basic China cross-border marketing model represented by the likes of Alibaba Group’s Tmall platform. Various industry participants, including Alibaba, are looking to provide more substantial online-to-offline services. These include helping companies develop products for the China market, managing consumer engagement, and providing guidance on pricing and distribution.
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