It may be a new year, but there’s nothing new about the latest development in the group buying space where an ongoing cleanup has claimed one of the biggest victims yet with reports of mass layoffs at a mid-sized player called Qianpin. This latest shake-up is part of an ongoing retrenchment that has now reached its late stages, and I do expect we’ll see 1 or 2 more major fireworks in the next 6 months before this long and painful consolidation wraps up around the middle of the year.
Tag Archives: Lashou
Group Buy Site 24Quan Quits 团购网站24券关门
After taking a temporary “excursion” offline due to a dispute with its investors in October, mid-sized group buying site 24Quan has decided to make the trip permanent by closing down, in the latest wrinkle of a painful restructuring in the overcrowded space. This latest development shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, following the site’s suspension of service 3 months ago despite its promises to reopen once it resolved its problems. (previous post) Now it seems the company’s managers couldn’t resolve those differences with investors, prompting 24Quan’s CEO to confirm that his company has officially closed its doors permanently.
Tencent’s GroupNet: A Group Buying Consolidator 网罗天下：团购行业的整合者
The long awaited clean-up of China’s cluttered group buying sector appears to be accelerating, with new reports that a potential cash-rich consolidator has emerged in the form of GroupNet, which is itself the product of the merger earlier this year between former mid-sized players FTuan and Gaopeng. The new reports say that GroupNet has raised $40 million in new funds, which it will use to acquire other companies in the money-losing space where many players are now on life-support after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars in investor dollars over the last 2 years. (English article)
Suning Links With Vancl, 24Quan Shutters 苏宁易购联手凡客诚品 24券暂时停业
New signs of consolidation are appearing in the overheated in e-commerce and group buying spaces, with Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) again emerging as a potential major consolidator in e-commerce as a mid-sized group buying site named 24Quan closes up shop. The e-commerce news is easily the more interesting of these 2 bits, as China’s group buying sector has largely run out of cash by now and most players are tottering on the brink of insolvency. By comparison, the e-commerce field is backed by a big number of cash-rich companies like Suning, Alibaba and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), which have indicated they are prepared to lose big money for a long time to defend and build their positions in a country likely to become the world’s biggest e-commerce market in the next 5-10 years.
News Digest: September 13, 2012 报摘： 2012年9月13日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba to Announce Completion of $8 Bln in New Fund Raising Next Week – HK Media (Chinese article)
- Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Streamlines its Operations (PRNewswire)
- 4 Regional Managers Leave LaShou – Source (Chinese article)
- Samsung (Seoul: 005930 Breaks Ground for Memory Manufacturing Complex in China (Businesswire)
- China’s 3SBio (Nasdaq: SSRX) Gets Buyout Offer From CEO (English article)
55tuan: More Distress in Group Buying 窝窝团：中国团购行业再现危机
We’re seeing the latest signs of distress from the beleaguered group buying space, with word that 55tuan, one of the industry’s biggest players, is failing to pay some of its merchants. This kind of news isn’t really new anymore, as similar talk that many of the country’s money-losing group buying sites are rapidly running out of cash has been circulating for months now. This latest distress sign just shows that the end is fast approaching for many of these companies, though I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised that we haven’t seen any bigger failures yet.
Dianping’s New Funding: M&A in Sight? 大众点评融资意在收购
It’s Monday morning and the news flow from the weekend is rather slow due to the summer holidays, so I’m going to be a bit whimsical and comment on the potential for new M&A following a new $60 million funding round for Dianping, an interesting and profitable company which started as a restaurant ratings company but which has also expanded into the problem-plagued group buying space. I’ll start by saying I have absolutely no reason to think Dianping has plans for any major M&A, but then will quickly add that its recent receipt of the $60 million in new venture funding looks suspiciously like it might be intended for such a purchase.
LaShou: End Near With CEO Departure CEO离职，拉手网接近尾声
The steady stream of executive departures at the ailing LaShou has reached a new high with the resignation of the company’s CEO, in the latest sign that the end may be near for China’s leading group buying site as it rapidly runs out of cash. I last wrote about LaShou back in late April, when it looked like the company may only have months left to live as it bled cash after a failed New York IPO and the departure of a number of top executives, including its regional managers in Shanghai and Beijing and a vice president. (previous post) Two months later, media are now reporting that company founder Wu Bo is leaving his post as company CEO, even as he retains his position as LaShou’s chairman. (Chinese article)
News Digest: August 7, 2012 报摘： 2012年8月7日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Expands TD-LTE Trial to 13 Cities (English article)
- Youku (NYSE: YOKU) Announces Q2 Unaudited Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Changyou’s (Nasdaq: CYOU) 7Road.com Unit Plans to File for IPO (PRNewswire)
- LaShou’s Wu Bo Reliquishes CEO Title, Remains as Company Chairman (Chinese article)
- Sinopec, ENN Extend Long Stop Date for China Gas Bid to Sept 6 (HKEx announcement)
- Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Groupon Retreats, Dianping Mobilizes 中国团购业继续整合
The shakeup in China’s online auction space continues, with global pioneer Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) effectively retreating from the market just a year and a half after it entered while up-and-comer Dianping passes an important milestone in the mobile space. The shake-up has been going on since the beginning of the year, fueled by rampant competition that has caused many Chinese consumers to rapidly lose interest in group buying deals from companies that look increasingly shaky as many run out of cash and are forced to close or make massive cutbacks. Of course the big really news from this space has yet to come, but could be just a month or 2 away when I predict that cash-challenged giant LaShou will either be forced to shut down or get purchased by one of the industry’s stronger players. But more about that in a moment.
FTuan-Gaopeng Merger Looms, LaShou Next? F团与高朋网合并接近完成 拉手网或成下一个目标
A day after leading group buying site LaShou formally scrapped its New York IPO (previous post), there’s an interesting detailed report out about the ongoing merger between 2 group buying sites backed by Tencent (HKEx: 700), China top Internet company. But what’s more interesting to me than the actual report of this ongoing merger is the potential for the cash-rich Tencent itself to emerge as a key consolidator in the ongoing clean-up of the unruly group buying space, perhaps even making a play for LaShou itself as that company struggles for survival.
