Week #19: TikTok Shop's UK Beauty Livestream Tops $1M in Sales | Morgan Stanley: TEMU's GMV Could Reach $130 Billion by 2030
Latest news and analysis on China’s global e-sellers
Here’s our pick for last week’s news:
Morgan Stanley: TEMU's GMV Could Reach $130 Billion by 2030
TikTok Vietnam Launches $1 Million Ad Support for Small Businesses
Brazilian Retail Giant Magalu Partners with AliExpress to Boost Digital Retail
Chinese Manufacturers Dominate Q1 2024 Global Smart Vacuum Robot Market with Over 60% Share
Cainiao to Open Seven Cross-Border Centers, Starting in Yiwu
MINISO Opens Largest European Flagship on Paris's Champs-Élysées
TikTok Shop's UK Beauty Livestream Tops $1M in Sales
Morgan Stanley: TEMU's GMV Could Reach $130 Billion by 2030
Morgan Stanley's latest report highlights Temu's impressive global expansion and significant market potential. Analysts, led by Eddy Wang, project that Temu could turn profitable as soon as 2025, with its GMV reaching $130 billion by 2030.
For 2024, Temu has strategically prioritized enhancing its SKU variety and improving user experience in the United States, while also expanding its footprint in emerging markets like Europe and Latin America. Analysts have observed that, as of May 2024, Temu's monthly active users in Europe have surpassed those of Amazon and AliExpress by 38% and 82%, respectively.
As Temu refines its global strategy, the regional distribution of its GMV is undergoing significant changes. Analysts predict the US market's contribution to Temu's GMV will drop from over 50% in 2023 to 33% in 2024, and further to 30% by 2030. Concurrently, the European market is anticipated to emerge as Temu's largest GMV source in 2024, representing 37% of the total, and Latin America is expected to contribute about 10%.
In light of this trend, analysts forecast that Temu's GMV will grow from $19 billion in 2023 to $53 billion in 2024, with potential to reach $130 billion by 2030. Despite the rapid growth, Temu's market share in each region remains relatively modest, with less than 2% in the US and less than 4% in Europe and Latin America in 2024, underscoring significant growth potential.
TikTok Vietnam Launches $1 Million Ad Support for Small Businesses
Nguyen Lam Thanh, CEO of TikTok Vietnam, has introduced a $1 million advertising credit program. This initiative is designed to promote Vietnamese brands and is part of TikTok's larger $12.2 million commitment to Southeast Asian SMEs announced last year. By the end of 2023, nearly 3 million sellers were active on TikTok in Vietnam.
"Our platform allows small businesses to reach consumers at minimal costs. SMEs often don't have the resources that larger enterprises do, so we offer various solutions to help them get started. We aim to support 10,000 businesses in the next six months," said Mr. Thanh. TikTok Shop is now the second-largest e-commerce platform in Vietnam, just behind Shopee. Kantar's 2024 report shows that 98% of TikTok users discover new brands or products on the platform, and 72% decide to buy after seeing them on TikTok.
Brazilian Retail Giant Magalu Partners with AliExpress to Boost Digital Retail
Brazil's third-largest retailer, Magazine Luiza, commonly known as Magalu, has struck a deal with Alibaba's AliExpress, enabling both companies to list products on each other's platforms. Following this announcement, Magalu's stock surged by over 12%.
In recent years, e-commerce firms from China and other Asian countries have fiercely competed with local rivals in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, offering a wide array of products at competitive prices. Alongside AliExpress, Shopee and Shein have also gained traction in Brazil, while PDD's Temu launched earlier this June.
JPMorgan analysts noted that the partnership enhances Magalu's third-party offerings by adding products outside its core focus, thereby avoiding delivery costs. They anticipate this move will enhance Magalu's unit economics, potentially increasing sales conversions and customer retention, contingent upon AliExpress' service standards, as outlined in a note to clients by lead analyst Joseph Giordano.
Chinese products to be available on Magalu's marketplace include beauty products, computer peripherals, consumer electronics, and household items. "Our strategy is to progressively expand the variety of offerings on both platforms," Magalu CEO Frederico Trajano remarked during a conference call with reporters. Under the terms of the agreement, Magalu will earn a take-rate fee for each sale of AliExpress products on its platform, and vice versa.
Chinese Manufacturers Dominate Q1 2024 Global Smart Vacuum Robot Market with Over 60% Share
According to IDC's Quarterly Report on Global Smart Home Devices for Q1 2024, shipments of smart vacuum robots totaled 4.554 million units, marking an 11.1% YoY growth. Leading Chinese brands such as Roborock, Ecovacs, Xiaomi, Anker Innovations, Dreame and ILIFE saw their combined market share rise to over 60% of the global shipment. Meanwhile, iRobot continues to dominate in the U.S., Japan, UK, and Canada due to its strong brand presence.
The U.S. remains the largest market in smart vacuum robots. Despite Chinese manufacturers' advanced product capabilities and faster innovation cycles, challenges such as local brand influence and established distribution networks have kept Chinese brands' market share relatively low in the U.S.
In Latin America, Chinese products struggle with higher pricing and lower acceptance. Globally, top manufacturers have seen substantial growth in overseas markets, especially in Asia-Pacific and Central-Eastern Europe. As per GfK market research data, as of late 2022, Chinese robotic vacuum cleaners had attained a significant market share of nearly 50% globally, with shares of 68% in Southeast Asia and 55% in Europe.
Cainiao to Open Seven Cross-Border Centers, Starting in Yiwu
Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao announced plans to establish 7 major cross-border business centers nationwide spanning 20 industrial belts, with the first one located in Yiwu, Zhejiang. This initiative aims to optimize international logistics costs by 5-10% for SME exporters through enhanced local service team deployment.
The establishment of localized business centers will provide tailored logistics solutions, facilitating services like streamlined onboarding, integration with multiple ERP systems, and an affordable "Apparel Special Line". Besides, Cainiao's "One Package Pickup" service claims coverage across 100+ cities nationwide without minimum collection thresholds.
In the 2023 fiscal year, Cainiao handled over 1.5 billion cross-border parcels, serving 133 million international consumers and over 100,000 businesses and brands. Alibaba's fiscal year 2024 report states that as of March 31, Cainiao's daily average cross-border parcel volume exceeded 5 million.
MINISO Opens Largest European Flagship on Paris's Champs-Élysées
The grand opening of MINISO's flagship on Champs-Élysées recorded exceptional first-day sales amounting to over $78.42K, setting a new benchmark in overseas performance and underscoring the success of its strategy with prominent superstores abroad. Spanning 800 square meters, this superstore represents MINISO's largest presence in France and Europe, marking a pivotal step in its strategic expansion into the European market.
Over recent years, the Chinese low-cost retailer and variety store chain MINISO has pioneered flagship concepts worldwide, driving substantial growth in international markets. In May 2023, MINISO launched its inaugural global flagship in New York's Times Square, setting a monthly revenue record of nearly ten million RMB. By November 2023, MINISO's flagship on London's Oxford Street surpassed all previous European opening day records.
Guided by its globalization strategy, MINISO continues to show robust growth in overseas markets, especially in Europe. In 2023, MINISO's GMV in Europe grew by nearly 70% YoY, with Q1 2024 seeing an over 80% increase. Ye Guofu, MINISO's CEO, highlighted Europe's pivotal role, targeting a network of a thousand stores within the next five years.
TikTok Shop's UK Beauty Livestream Tops $1M in Sales
Mitchell Halliday, founder and CEO of UK beauty brand Made By Mitchell and renowned makeup artist, made history by achieving $1 million in sales on the first day of TikTok Shop's summer promotion. The livestream, held in Manchester, featured exclusive discounts on a range of popular Made By Mitchell products like Liquid Blush and Curve Case Cream Makeup Palettes. The 12-hour event saw products flying off the shelves every second, resulting in total sales reaching $830,000 and catapulting the brand to a $1 million milestone in TikTok sales within just 24 hours.
"I'm incredibly proud to be the first UK beauty brand to hit the $1 million milestone in single-day sales on TikTok Shop. Last year, we celebrated reaching $2 million in weekly sales. Making this achievement in a single day is a testament to the formidable power and potential of TikTok Shop. This marks a historic moment not only for Made By Mitchell but also for the entire beauty industry, illustrating the transformative impact of TikTok livestream shopping in driving substantial commercial growth, unmatched by other platforms." Mitchell stated.
Recently, in the US, TikTok Shop creator Stormi Steele led Canvas Beauty to exceed $1 million in sales during a livestream. According to a recent report by Dash Hudson and NielsenIQ, TikTok Shop, at the forefront of livestream shopping, has swiftly become a key sales platform in the beauty industry, ranking ninth in online beauty and health sales in the US and second in the UK, outperforming numerous traditional retailers.