Letao Raising $30M in Series D
China’s Zappos Letao is raising US$ 30 million in Series D from investors including Ceyuan Capital, DT Capital Partners and Tiger Fund which all participated in the company’s previous fundings. Letao didn’t mention who led this round of financing though.
Letao could live well for another three or four years without making any money by counting on their reduced operating cost, according to Hugo Chen, Vice President of Letao. Investors didn’t urge the company to make profit in 2012, but they’re targeting the goal with new moves in this year like business structure restructuring.
中国のZappos Letaoが、前回の資金調達にも参加したCeyuan Capital、DT Capital Partners、Tiger FundからクラスD受益証券で、3000万ドルを調達した、Letaoを今回の調達の幹事会社については明かしていない。
Lateoの副社長Hugo Chenによろば、Letaoは新たな資金調達をおこなわずとも、経費節減努力によって少なくともあと3年は存続することができたとのことだ。投資家たちは、2012年中に利益をあげることは求めていないが、今年度中に経営構造の再構築に関して新たな一歩を踏み出すことを目標としている。
中国のZappos Letaoは、前回の全ての資金調達ラウンドにも参加のCeyuan Capital、DT Capital Partners、そしてTiger Fundを含む投資家より3000万米ドルのDシリーズ資金調達を行った。Letaoは今回の資金調達ラウンドに係る主要投資家については言及していない。
Letaoは3~4年間は利益を得ずとも自身の運営経費の削減もあり、十分生き長らえることができた、とLetao副会長のHugo Chen氏は述べた。投資家たちは企業に対して2012年に利益を得るよう駆り立ててはおらず、その引き換えに本年度は、事業構造改革などの新たな試みを目指している。
The Beijing-based company’s arch-rivals include OKbuy, S.cn and Yougou. OKbuy got investments from Tencent, leaning on Taobao S.cn has done something, Yougou is backed by Belle, the No. 1 woman’s shoe retailer in China. None of them made a penny in last year, and frankly, the whole online shoe selling business hasn’t been able to make profit in China yet. We can do the math, gross profit for the sector is between 20% and 30%, after subtracting logistic costs (accounting for 10% of per customer transaction), marketing expense (30%, up to 50%), everyone is bleeding money.
And year 2012 will still be seeing them ferociously competing against each other. Yougou and Okbuy will be keeping expanding to scale up as it seems to many that size matter in Chine ecommerce battlefield, while Letao will try to retrench as well as restructure to (probably) make some money without growing (or bleeding money) too fast.