Temu Expands into U.S. Groceries; The Children's Place Joins SHEIN Marketplace
Latest news and analysis on China’s global e-sellers
Here’s our pick for last week’s news:
The Children's Place Joins SHEIN Marketplace
Temu Expands into U.S. Groceries
AliExpress Opens AliExpressDirect Program to U.S. Retailers
Luckin Coffee Plans to Enter U.S. Market in 2025
Lazada to Enter European Market
UGREEN's Q3 Profit Up 80.5% to $16.18M
Anker's Overseas Revenue Jumps 39.86% to $2.24B in Q1-Q3 2024, 96.5% of the Total
The Children's Place Joins SHEIN Marketplace
In late October, The Children's Place, the largest pure-play children's specialty apparel retailer in North America, joined SHEIN. With a network spanning over 500 stores in North America and international franchises across 15 countries, The Children's Place offers a range of specialized children's brands across multiple sales channels.
Since SHEIN opened its online markerplace to third-party sellers in May last year, most onboarding merchants have been unbranded Chinese manufacturers. Bringing in The Children's Place marks a big step for SHEIN, hinting at its moving towards Amazon-like marketplace. Other notable brands have joined SHEIN as well, such as France's Palladium, U.S. toy brand Funko, European appliance brand Create, Korean's Lock&Lock, and Miniso from China.
Temu Expands into U.S. Groceries
Temu has expanded its product offerings from a few initial categories to now include furniture, home décor, appliances, and, most recently, groceries. This move could reshape the U.S. retail landscape by introducing a new group-buying model that potentially brings grocery prices down by 10% to 40%. With rising discontent among Americans over pricey groceries, Temu's model might catch on quickly.
For sellers, Temu's move opens a huge market with both opportunities and challenges. While the platform's low prices will likely attract lots of bargain hunters, sellers will need to adapt to its specific rules and pricing setup, which might require reworking supply chains and costs. Temu's entry is likely to heat up competition in the U.S. grocery market and could drive the industry toward more efficient, cost-effective models.
AliExpress Opens AliExpressDirect Program to U.S. Retailers
On October 30, AliExpress announced it would open its AliExpress Direct program to U.S. Retailers, with zero commission and no entry fees. AliExpress will also offer U.S. sellers free support in marketing, business operations, and customer service.
AliExpress Direct is a premium shipping service designed to enhance the cross-border shopping experience for customers. This service consolidates items ordered from multiple sellers into a single package and ensures door-to-door delivery. Plus, customers benefit from a streamlined refund process; if an order is not received within 30 days or if a refund is requested for any reason within 15 days of receipt, refunds will be processed within 1 to 3 days, backed by a 100% money-back guarantee.
Luckin Coffee Plans to Enter U.S. Market in 2025
Luckin Coffee plans to enter the U.S. market as early as next year, and it's getting its supply chain and tech ready for the move. This year, Luckin invested $120 million to set up a coffee roasting plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu, with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons.
Luckin has been running ads during NBA games to build brand recognition ahead of its U.S. launch. Initially, the company plans to target cities with lots of Chinese students and tourists, like New York. In April last year, Luckin opened its first overseas store in Singapore, with 8 more added in Q3 this year, bringing its total there to 45.
In China, Luckin's revenue reached $3.51 billion last year, beating Starbucks for the first time. This year, it set a new quarterly record with $1.18 billion in revenue and $122.60 million in net profits in Q2. By Q3, Luckin added 1,382 new stores in China, bringing the total to 21,343 (including franchises), securing its lead in the Chinese coffee market.
Lazada to Enter European Market
Alibaba's Lazada has announced its plan to step into the European market, taking on competitors like Amazon and Germany's Zalando. At a recent event in Milan, Lazada highlighted its LazMall, which connects millions of buyers with over 32,000 global and local brands. Lazada now serves 150 million users, and Alibaba aims to double that by 2030. CEO Dong Zheng indicated that the specific plans will hinge on economic and market conditions but without any further details about the timing and target countries for the European entry.
UGREEN's Q3 Profit Up 80.5% to $16.18M
UGREEN released its Q3 2024 financial statement, reporting a revenue of $606.80 million in the first three quarters, a 28.47% rise compared to last year. Net profit for shareholders came to $45.38 million, up 28.94%. In Q3 alone, UGREEN made $220.11 million in sales, up 27.01% from last year, with net profit for shareholders up by 80.5% to $16.18 million.
Founded in 2012 in Shenzhen, UGREEN specializes in the R&D, production, and sales of 3C consumer electronics, with products across five key lines: transmission, audio-visual, charging, mobile peripherals, and storage. UGREEN debuted on the Growth Enterprise Market in late July, with overseas revenue hitting $213.63 million in the first half of the year, up 44.43% from last year.
Anker's Overseas Revenue Jumps 39.86% to $2.24B in Q1-Q3 2024, 96.5% of the Total
For the third quarter of 2024, Anker Innovations generated revenue of $958.25 million, a 44.05% increase compared to last year, alongside a net profit of $84.41 million, a growth of 52.44%. For the first three quarters of 2024, the company generated a total revenue of $2.32 billion, up 39.56%, with a net profit of $207.43 million, a 21.29% rise.
Anker's business focuses mainly on three segments: charging and storage, smart innovations, and smart audio-visual products. Regionally, Anker recorded $80.75 million in domestic revenue for the first three quarters of 2024, a 31.52% increase, while overseas revenue hit $2.24 billion, up 39.86%, accounting for 96.5% of total revenue. Plus, Anker's DTC site alone brought in $231.95 million, soaring by 104.5% and making up 10.01% of total revenue.