China Digital
Tencent is One of Snapchat’s Potential Investors
Evan Spiegel, the founder of popular photo messaging app Snapchat, has stated in the past that he sees China’s Tencent as a role model. In June, during the last funding round for his startup company, Snapchat raised $80 million at an $800 million valuation. Now the company wants to raise $200 million at a $3-4 billion valuation. If Tencent, with a valuation of $100 billion, were to invest in Snapchat, the partnership between the two companies would be a powerful one. Tencent could help Snapchat make a name for itself in Asia and also figure out potential business models. Spiegel wants the app to start bringing in revenue before the next round of funding, and has said that he admires WeChat’s (Tencent’s popular messaging app) ability to earn money from in-app purchases.
Source: Tech Crunch
China Digital
11.11 Helps Wine Maker Jiuxian Break Record Sales Of 220 Million Yuan
It seems the holiday not only helps sales in clothing, beauty products and consumer electronics sectors, but now liquor companies are also benefitting. Jiuxian, a winemaker in China, announced that after 24hrs the company broke a record of 220 million yuan in sales. The numbers are surprising for the winemaker because last year’s total sales for the day were 61.5 million yuan. After one hour since the sales frenzy started Jiuxian passed 40 million yuan. Double eleven only began almost 5 years ago but it seems to be proving that many industries including the wine industry can benefit from this online trend.
Source: Ebrun
China Digital
E-commerce grows in China
International retailers are expanding into China’s e-commerce sector, with both internet fashion retailer Asos and US supermarket Walmart announcing new plans for China. Walmart CEO Michael Duke has reported that their e-commerce business has grown around 30% in the first half of 2013 and stated that the company was looking to align themselves with China’s strategy of promoting the emerging middle class. The trend towards online shopping has been especially noticeable in the fashion and beauty market, where many consumers seem to display a preference for better value, simplicity of purchase and the increased ease of return found online. Italian fashion e-tailor The Yoox Group has even taken the online service a step further by offering a ‘butler’ option – a courier can now wait for up to half an hour to see whether the customer wishes to return any of the items.
Source: Warc