Week #24: Hundreds of Sellers Protest Penalty Policies at Temu HQ | Shenzhen's Aiper Raises Over $60 Million
Latest news and analysis on China’s global e-sellers
Here’s our pick for last week’s news:
Temu Becomes Japan's 4th Most Popular E-Commerce Platform in May with 31M MAUs
Hangzhou's Sunon files for IPO
Loctek's 2024 H1 Report: Revenue Soars 44.64% to $337.96 Million
TikTok UK Live Stream Milestone: P.Louise Makeup Academy Tops $2M
'Olympic Economy' Booming: AliExpress and Cainiao See 200% Export Surge in Europe
Temu Launches in Thailand
Shenzhen's Aiper Raises Over $60 Million
China Securities Intern Leaks IPO Documents, Including WYBOTICS' 1 Billion RMB Goal
Hundreds of Sellers Protest Penalty Policies at Temu HQ, Demand Refunds of Fines and Deposits
Temu Becomes Japan's 4th Most Popular E-Commerce Platform in May with 31M MAUs
Nielsen's latest survey shows that in May, Temu was the fourth most popular e-commerce platform in Japan based on monthly active users. According to their report, the top e-commerce platforms in Japan for May were: Amazon (67.24 million), Rakuten (66.31 million), Yahoo Shopping (35.41 million), Temu (31.06 million), and Omni7 (18.40 million).
When breaking down those five platforms by age group, Amazon has the highest usage rate among 18~34-year-olds at 81%, while both Amazon and Rakuten have an equal rate of 75% among those aged 35 and older. Other platforms, including the newcomer Temu, see higher usage rates among the 35-49 age group, with Yahoo at 43%, Temu at 32%, and Omni7 at 20%.
Since its official debut in Japan last July, Temu has strived to enhance its service. In March, Temu declared its support for PayPay, a Japanese mobile payment service, offering consumers a more convenient shopping experience. Looking ahead, Temu expects to continue growing within the Japanese market.
Hangzhou's Sunon files for IPO
Hangzhou-based Sunon, a top seller in home furnishings, has registered with the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau in preparation for an IPO.
Founded in 1991, Sunon has grown into a group that covers office furniture, home furniture, and real estate investment. Their offerings include office desks, chairs, conference tables, filing cabinets, sofas, and educational furniture, recognized both at home and abroad with a global presence of 128 countries and regions.
The company has established showrooms and offices in India, Russia, the US, and Southeast Asia, making their business more localized. An overseas production base in Mexico was also launched in late May to better serve the North American market and deepen local economic ties.
In overseas markets, the home furnishings sector is always a big moneymaker. Reports from Kantar and Google show that home furnishings hold a 9% market share on Amazon's US site, making it the third-largest category. Data also shows that the global home decor market was worth $856.26 billion in 2022, and it's expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2031, reaching $1,522.02 billion, with a 6.6% annual growth rate from 2024 to 2031.
Loctek's 2024 H1 Report: Revenue Soars 44.64% to $337.96 Million
Loctek has released its 2024 half-year report. The company's revenue for the first half of 2024 reached $337.96 million, a 44.64% increase from last year. The net profit for shareholders was $14.90 million, up by 29.95% compared to the previous year.
Loctek attributed this growth to three main factors: 1) higher-than-expected surge in its overseas warehouse business; 2) the continuous expansion of the product lines in smart home and smart office; and 3) the increasing influence of its own brand, with impressive performance on DTC websites.
In 2013, Loctek established its first overseas warehouse to support its cross-border e-commerce business.
Meanwhile Loctek's own brands are a key competitive edge. In the first half of 2024, sales from Loctek's own brands (Loctek in China and FlexiSpot overseas) made up 68.93% of their main business revenue, excluding overseas warehouse revenue. Cross-border e-commerce sales hit $127.41 million, up 20.36% from last year, and sales from its DTC websites reached $51.38 million, up by 20.87% year-on-year, both growing faster than before.
TikTok UK Live Stream Milestone: P.Louise Makeup Academy Tops $2M
The UK's live streaming market has reached a new milestone with a single live stream surpassing $2 million in sales. P.Louise Makeup Academy @plmakeupacademy set a new record on TikTok UK by generating over $2.06 million from one live stream.
Founded by Paige Louise in 2014, P.Louise Makeup Academy offers top-notch makeup products and professional makeup courses for all levels of artistry and all levels of affordability.
Tabcut data shows that @plmakeupacademy has 2.8617 million followers, ranking among the UK's Top 1000 influencers, with a 5% engagement rate. In the past 90 days, the account hosted 106 live streams, primarily on beauty and personal care products. The shop has previously been ranked 8th in TikTok's Top 100 Shops and 2nd in the UK, just behind @madebymitchell.
'Olympic Economy' Booming: AliExpress and Cainiao See 200% Export Surge in Europe
"With the 'Olympic economy' booming, there's been a notable growth in orders from French buyers, especially in Paris. AliExpress and Cainiao's exports have hit new records. In July, our European warehouse shipped over 200% more orders than in May, driven by the European Cup and the Olympics." said the head of operations at Cainiao's European warehouse.
Top sellers on AliExpress in July included Eiffel Tower keychains, desktop ornaments, sports gear, protective equipment, and mini fans, with mini fan sales up nearly five times from the last month. With Cainiao's new line for large items, AliExpress is ramping up efforts on home and furniture products, leading to a surge in sales of Chinese-made lazy sofas during the European Cup and Olympics, giving overseas buyers a comfy way to watch the games.
Cainiao and AliExpress's European warehouse in Dongguan now covers seven countries, including Spain, France, and Germany, offering services like order consolidation, sorting, and warehousing, with the promise of "order in the morning, ship in the afternoon" and reliable "global 5-day delivery" during big events and sales.
Temu Launches in Thailand
Temu launched its site in Thailand, adding to its presence in Southeast Asia after Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. Like in other countries, Temu offers free shipping, 90-day free returns, and discounts up to 90% in Thailand.
Momentum Works' "Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2024 Report" indicates that the total transaction volume for e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia reached $114.6 billion last year. Shopee led the market with a 48% share, followed by Lazada at 16.4%, and TikTok and Tokopedia each at 14.2%.
Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok have established their own logistics systems in Southeast Asia. To keep up, Temu has developed its own logistics network to fulfill orders from various locations. Sellers can truck goods from Guangzhou to Bangkok in less than five days, faster than sea shipping but slightly more costly. As Temu adopts international logistics in Southeast Asia, it will face more challenges.
Shenzhen's Aiper Raises Over $60 Million
Shenzhen-based Aiper has raised over $60 million in its B and B+ financing rounds. Over the past three years, Aiper has completed three rounds of funding, totaling more than $75 million.
Founded in 2015, Aiper started with outdoor portable power and garden products. In 2019, the company ventured into the pool cleaning robot market. Aiper has since shipped over 1 million pool robots, which are not only bestsellers on Amazon and their own DTC website but are also available in major retail stores such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, OBI, and Leroy Merlin. The company plans to expand to over 7,000 offline stores by 2024.
In 2023, Aiper's DTC website sales almost hit $27.85 million. Similarweb shows that their site had over 530,000 visits in the last three months, with 42.81% coming from direct and organic searches. Industry reports say there were 30 million pools globally in 2022, with a 6% annual growth rate. As the market grows, it's now worth over $1.02 billion. More and more households with pools are using pool cleaning robots, with a current rate of 21%.
China Securities Intern Leaks IPO Documents, Including WYBOTICS' 1 Billion RMB Goal
An intern at China Securities recently caused a stir by sharing his internship experience on social media. The intern's video not only highlighted his work at China Securities but also leaked IPO documents from three companies, including WYBOTICS.
Founded in 2005, WYBOTICS specializes in the research, design, production, and sales of pool cleaning robots. In October 2022, the company released its IPO prospectus, with China Securities as the sponsor. But in March this year, WYBOTICS withdrew the IPO application. According to the prospectus, the company aimed to raise about 1 billion RMB ($139.25 million).
Financial data shows that from 2020 to 2022 and the first three quarters of 2023, WYBOTICS made operating revenues of $18.24 million, $40.38 million, $45.12 million, and $47.62 million, respectively, with net profits of $6.33 million, $13.55 million, $13.75 million, and $10.51 million, respectively.
Hundreds of Sellers Protest Penalty Policies at Temu HQ, Demand Refunds of Fines and Deposits
On July 29, hundreds of sellers gathered at Temu's headquarters to protest the platform's stringent penalty policies, demanding refunds of fines and deposits to protect their rights. This was the first time sellers managed to enter Temu's core office area after months of advocating for their rights. Data from the scene showed that the total amount of after-sales fines and reserved amounts was about 138 million RMB ($19.22 million), involving 407 merchants.
The protest began in May 2024, with only a few sellers talking directly to Temu until early July. These sellers visited Temu's Guangzhou headquarters and local petition offices around ten times seeking resolution. On July 22, a larger protest saw more than a hundred sellers protesting outside Temu's headquarters.
The dispute revolves around Temu's refund policy. Since May, many Temu sellers complained about frequent consumer requests for "refunds without returns," which the platform approved, causing big losses for sellers. There are many online guides on "Purchase on Temu without any dollar," and searching "Temu Refund Without Return" on Google gives you lots of results.
What makes things worse for sellers is Temu's five-fold penalty policy. Founded in 2022, Temu revised its after-sales rules in 2023 to impose penalties equivalent to five times the product's total price for issues like poor product quality, delayed shipping, and inadequate after-sales service. In 2024, this rule was adjusted to fines based on product quality scores, but the standards for these scores were vague.
On July 30, Pinduoduo, Temu's parent company, responded to China Securities Journal, stating: "The platform does not profit from merchants' penalty fees; the fines are compensated to consumers."