China B2B platform Yijiupi raises new round, buys Zskuaixiao

The size of the fourth tranche of Yijiupi's Series D round has not been disclosed. But global logistics player GLP, DragonBall Capital - the venture capital arm of online-to-offline services platform Meituan-Dianping - and Source Code Capital have been named as participants.

All three investors have backed Zskuaixiao's RMB205 million ($29 million) Series B round in 2018. Source Code and Meituan-Dianping - not DragonBall - also joined Yijiupi's $100 million series C in 2017.

Established in 2016, Zskuaixiao serves about 100,000 brick-and-mortar stores across 30 counties and 13 cities in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Most of its customers are mom-and-pop outfits in lower-tier cities. Chaocheng Wang, Yijiup's founder and CEO, said that South China is a region of strategic importance for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. He added that the deal brings Yijiupi one step closer to its goal of "full category coverage in the entire country."

Yijiupi started out in 2014 as a liquor trading platform for bar and restaurant owners. In the past couple of years, it has expanded into a wider range of FMCG categories. The company aggregates orders from multiple buyers and secures discounts from suppliers by purchasing in bulk.

The most recent investment in Yijuipi came last August when Tencent Holdings, an existing backer, put in $80 million. Other investors include Warburg Pincus and Eastern Bell Venture Capital.

The company currently serves 800,000 stores in 138 municipalities and 500 towns across 26 Chinese provinces. Its gross merchandise volume (GMV) reached RMB20 billion ($2.8 billion) in 2019. Non-alcohol products are said to account for 90% of transactions and 70% of overall spending.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• e-commerce
• GLP
• Source Code Capital
• Meituan-Dianping
• M&A
• TMT