Fresh out of this summer’s DemoChina 2012, the Chinese flash sales site Xipin.me – which models itself closely on Fab.com – has secured nearly RMB 10 million (US$1.59 million) in series A funding. It has not been disclosed who the investors are in this major round; previously, Xipin’s angel investors were Korea-based VCs.
Xipin, much like US-based Fab, focuses on stylish or handcrafted products like funky clocks and other creative home decoration items. As with most other flash sales e-commerce sites, a lot of products are sold in limited items for a period of only 72 hours.
Xipin’s CEO and co-founder is “Hiris” Tan Kaiyi (pictured below), one of the all-too-few female startup founders in the country. Onstage at DemoChina in August this year – where the startup went all the way to the finals – Tan told Sequoia’s Neil Shen that Xipin chooses only items to sell that “will inspire people” and that the site has the requisite “social DNA” so that “products can go viral.” The site works with both Chinese and overseas designers to create a number of unique product lines, and that too is touted as a major strength and selling point for the company.
Xipin's Tan Kaiyi onstage at DemoChina recently (Image: cyzone.cn)
From some research I note that Neil Shen responded (via Cyzone) by saying he has concerns that China’s market is not ready for fairly pricey decorative items like these – or that the market is pretty small right now. The Sequoia man also expressed concern, in his role as a panelist at DemoChina, that Xipin will see high costs in terms of working with all those designers and trying to acquire new users in this e-commerce niche.
Nonetheless, fashion-oriented flash sales sites in China have been thriving, with VIPshop (NYSE:VIPS) doing well after its US IPO earlier this year, and the similar FClub wrapping up $30 million in series B funding. The Xipin crew will be hoping that China’s growing middle class – especially the women – will be as keen to spend as much on home decorations as fashionable garments.
[Source: Kuailiyu - article in Chinese]
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