Week #31: Midea Group Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a Total Value at $57.72B | Temu App Hits 735 Million Downloads
Latest news and analysis on China’s global e-sellers
Here’s our pick for last week’s news:
Chinese Firms Dominate Top Rankings in Global Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Market
Anker Innovations to Acquire Additional 6.66% Stake in Ocean Wing for $40.42 Million
Beatbot Brings its Total Funding to Over $70.91 Million
Temu App Hits 735 Million Downloads
Midea Group Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a Total Value at $57.72 Billion
TEMU to Launch Semi-Managed Service in Czech Republic on September 29
SPORTSOUL's Net Profit Surges by 270.48% to $1.74 Million in 2024 H1
Chinese Firms Dominate Top Rankings in Global Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Market
Recent IDC data shows that the global robotic vacuum cleaner market shipped 5.117 million units in Q2 2024, up 15.7% from last year. Chinese companies took the lead in this category for the first time, with nine of the top ten held by Chinese-owned firms.
Roborock achieved the top spot in both sales and revenue in Q2, marking the first time a Chinese manufacturer has dominated the market. iRobot from the U.S. saw a 6% drop in shipments, landing in second place, while ECOVACS came in third after a 9.4% drop in sales. Xiaomi, Dreame, Narwal, Anker, SharkNinja, Lefant, and ILIFE completed the rankings from fourth to tenth.
Roborock's revenue for the first half of the year was up 31% to $626.81 million, with net profits up 52% to $158.83 million. ECOVACS saw a 2.4% dip in revenue to $989.85 million, though its net profit grew by 4.3% to $86.51 million.
IDC analyst expects that the second half of 2024 will see fierce competition in the high-end market. The incorporation of AI to improve product responsiveness and the rapid expansion of floor-cleaning robots will drive this battle. As average prices rise, consumers' ability to purchase these products will be tested, especially in key markets like North America and Europe, where Chinese brands are facing tough competition.
Anker Innovations to Acquire Additional 6.66% Stake in Ocean Wing for $40.42 Million
Anker Innovations is set to invest $40.42 million to purchase an additional 6.6557% stake in Ocean Wing, boosting its ownership to nearly 82%. Founded in January 2014, Ocean Wing functions as Anker's R&D center for smart tech. In 2023 and the first half of 2024, Ocean Wing generated $122.10 million and $62.96 million in revenue, with net profits of $51.62 million and $24.82 million, respectively.
The aim of this acquisition is to further strengthen Anker's control over this key subsidiary while exploring synergies in areas like operations, management, and market reach. Anker believes this move will not only boost employee morale at Ocean Wing but also bring the two companies closer in terms of tech, products, and markets, helping achieve their long-term goals.
Beatbot Brings its Total Funding to Over $70.91 Million
Beatbot, a pool robot company, has completed its Series A financing, bringing its total funding to over $70.91 million and pushing its valuation close to $283.62 million. The money will be used to develop new products, hire staff, and expand into markets like Europe, Australia, South America, and the Middle East through online and offline sales.
Earlier this year, Beatbot launched its AquaSense Pro and AquaSense models, priced at $2,199 and $1,299, respectively. In just six months, these models brought in hundreds of millions in sales and now hold 85% of the high-end pool robot market on Amazon for products above $1,400.
New competitors in the pool robot market tend to focus on lower price segments, with budget models on Amazon priced between $150 and $200, and mid-range options between $399 and $600. Currently, the only premium pool robots over $1,000 are made by Beatbot and the Israeli brand Dolphin.
Temu App Hits 735 Million Downloads
The latest data from Stocklytics shows that Temu's app has been downloaded more than 735 million times. In August 2024, Temu recorded almost 55 million global downloads, up 42% from last year.
From May to July this year, Temu managed to hit over 50 million downloads per month—three times more than Amazon. App Magic reveals that over the past two years, Temu has been downloaded over 200 million times in the U.S., making up nearly a third of its global total and surpassing eBay as the second-largest e-commerce platform worldwide.
U.S. users show much more interest in Temu than Europeans, downloading the app at five times the rate of European users. In the UK, Germany, France, and Spain, Temu's combined downloads make up just 5% of the global total, while Mexico, Temu's second-largest market, accounts for 10%, about a third of the U.S. volume.
Meanwhile, U.S., users spend almost as much time on Temu as they do on Amazon. In Q2 2023, users spent nearly double the time on Temu compared to rival platforms. In the UK and France, Temu has become one of the top five retailers, and in Germany, it now holds over 5% of the market, attracting 15 million visitors. Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands are also seeing impressive growth.
Midea Group Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a Total Value at $57.72 Billion
On September 17th, Midea Group successfully went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking the largest IPO in Hong Kong this year and the biggest in the past three years. By 10:30 a.m., Midea's shares had surged 8.49%, trading at $7.64, with a total market value of $57.72 billion.
Midea's recently released mid-year report for 2024 revealed revenues of $30.81 billion, up 10.3% year-on-year, and net profits of $2.95 billion, a 14.11% increase. At the company's shareholder meeting, Midea's executives emphasized the vast global home appliance market, valued at nearly USD 400 billion, with Midea holding less than 5%. The report also mentioned that China's exports are facing more uncertainty, with trade barriers in some key markets affecting short-term exports and long-term planning.
Midea's exports have long relied on OEM manufacturing. Experts point out that the company's biggest challenge is building up its own brand overseas. Established brands from Europe, the U.S., and Japan continue to dominate the higher-end segment. Meanwhile, Haier, Midea's competitor, is listed on multiple stock exchanges, including in China, Hong Kong, and Germany, and has acquired leading brands in North America. Midea still needs time to carve out its place in the overseas mid-to-high-end market.
SPORTSOUL's Net Profit Surges by 270.48% to $1.74 Million in 2024 H1
SPORTSOUL has announced its financial results for the first half of 2024. The company reported revenues of $38.01 million, up 42.49%, with net profits of $1.74 million, a 270.48% increase. Founded in 2004, SPORTSOUL specializes in leisure sports and fitness equipment, earning the nickname "the first trampoline stock in cross-border e-commerce."
SPORTSOUL's business is mainly focused on overseas markets and operates under two models: self-owned brands and ODM/OEM services. The self-owned brands include SKYWALKER, SPORTSOUL, and TECHPLUS, while the company has built ODM/OEM partnerships with major global clients like Amazon, Walmart, Decathlon, Layton, and ICON.
SPORTSOUL went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in October 2022. By mid-2023, the company's revenues reached $26.66 million, with trampoline products bringing in $10.66 million, about 40% of total sales, down from nearly 60% in 2022. According to LPINFORMATION, SPORTSOUL's SKYWALKER held the largest global trampoline market share at 8.36% in 2022.
This year, SPORTSOUL is making strategic moves to reduce its dependence on trampolines by entering the fitness and rehabilitation equipment markets. While its fitness business focuses on OEM production, the rehabilitation sector is an area of growth the company is actively pursuing.
TEMU to Launch Semi-Managed Service in Czech Republic on September 29
TEMU is set to launch the semi-managed service in the Czech Republic, with the platform going live on September 29, and sellers can start listing their products from September 22. To ensure smooth and efficient operations, TEMU has introduced detailed shipping and return policies.
Shipping between Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic is available, while shipments from Belgium, Slovenia, Hungary, or the Netherlands to Poland or the Czech Republic are not supported yet. As for returns, both international and domestic returns are allowed to warehouses in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and the Czech Republic. However, the Poland and Czech sellers must upload their own return labels. While initial return logistics options may be limited, they will gradually expand.