VC-backed Mogujie leads $30m round for China C2C retail player

Early-stage internet and mobile investor Source Code Capital also participated in the round. The GP, which is backed by Sequoia Capital China, provided Taoshiji's Series A funding in July of last year.

The service was launched in 2014 by CEO Dandan Chen, who got the idea after observing the luxury shopping habits of Chinese consumers overseas during her seven years as a student in Germany. According to local media, Taoshiji received initial funding from Cherubic Ventures in 2013 before Source Code came in with a $2.5 million Series A round.

Taoshiji features clothing, health and beauty products, jewelry, bags and accessories, and baby products. The company now claims to have 500 registered users, including 100,000 active daily users. Monthly turnover is more than RMB30 million ($4.8 million), with individual purchases exceeding RMB1,000.

Chen said the latest investment would give Taoshiji the confidence and resolve to meet the evolving needs of urban female consumers in China and expand its product range into other segments. As part of the deal, Taoshiji has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Mogujie.

Founded in 2011, Mogujie is described as a Chinese version of Pinterest that targets female consumers, selling clothing and accessories via its web platform and mobile app. Last year, the company raised $200 million in Series D funding led by Hopu Investments and Trustbridge Partners, at a reported valuation of $1 billion. Existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and IDG Capital Partners also participated.

The company received an undisclosed Series A round from Bertelsmann Asia Investments in 2011 and then raised two rounds from Qiming and IDG the following year.

Source Code was set up in April 2014 and is led by Yi Cao, who previously worked at VC firms such as Ceyuan Ventures and Sequoia. It has $360 million and RMB450 million under management across US dollar and renminbi strategies, respectively. Anchor LPs include Sequoia, Xing Wang, the founder and CEO of Meituan, and Yiming Zhang, who set up Toutiao.com, Kuxun.cn, fanfou.com and 99fang.com.

Source Code has invested in consumer credit business Qufenqi, peer-to-peer car rental platform PPzuche, online-to-offline delivery companies Dudumeijia and Ebaoyang, and internet finance platforms 1caifu and Yinker.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
• Consumer
• Technology
• Venture
• China
• Consumer
• TMT
• Source Code Capital