
Sailing invests $100m in China cross-border e-commerce site
Sailing Capital, a PE firm backed by Shanghai International Group, has committed $100 million in Series B funding to Ymatou, an e-commerce site that connects global retailers to Chinese consumers.
Founder and CEO Bibo Zeng announced to the financing round in an open letter to staff that was published by local media. Zeng describes at length the challenges Ymatou has faced since its 2009 inception, including previous attempts to secure venture capital backing.
According to AVCJ Research, the company received RMB5 million ($799,000) in seed funding from TiSiWi Venture in 2011 and a $10 million Series A round from SAIF Partners and Grand Yangtze Capital in 2013.
Set up in 2009, Ymatou is a B2C e-commerce platform supported by a global logistics system. It works with over 1,000 businesses in North America, Europe and Australasia, enabling them to access the China market without having to maintain inventory and establish local operations.
The company was originally known as xLobo Global Express and provided cross-border logistics services. This part of the business still exists and works with leading domestic online retailers like JD.com and Alibaba Group's Tmall. It now has logistics hubs in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Melbourne, Sydney and Tokyo.
Ymatou.com was launched in 2011 and began to carve out its own niche in the e-commerce space. As of 2013, the company had more than one million registered users. It is building a mobile commerce business and now offers flash sales - limited time discounts on certain products - to mobile shoppers.
Ymatou is listed as a partner of xLobo, with the two arms of the business fully integrated to provide an end-to-end service to overseas customers.
Cross-border e-commerce is an increasing area of focus for Chinese retailers and investors alike. Alibaba already has Tmall Global, which is used by overseas brands to reach Chinese consumers, and JD.com reportedly discussed a potential investment with Ymatou with a view to broadening its service offering.
Last November Vertex Ventures led a $30 million round of funding for Metao, a Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform, with participation from Morningside Technologies, Greenwoods Investment and Matrix Partners. Zeng claims in his letter that he approached Morningside in 2010 and again in 2012 when looking for new backers. There were also discussions with Alibaba around this time.
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