Belle, Baidu See Beauty in Online Shoe Store 百度和百丽投资优购网或为明智之举

By newsdoug on July 21, 2011

E-commerce in China is hot right now and apparel seems to be the latest hot area based on the latest deal involving online footwear seller Yougou. News on the investment is a bit conflicting, but consensus seems to be that Yougou has received hundreds of millions of US dollars in a new round of funding, and some are specifying the amount is around $450 million, with investors including Hong Kong-listed footwear distributor Belle International (HKEx: 1880) and Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). (English article; Chinese article) I haven’t been a big fan of Baidu’s e-commerce initiatives in the past, most notably its failed online store You’a, but this one certainly looks like it could have some potential with both a big Internet name behind it in the form of Baidu itself and a big apparel manufacturer and retailer in the form of Belle. This latest investment comes amid a recent flurry of activity in the e-commerce sector that points to its strong growth potential. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) bought into online retailer Yihaodian in May (previous p Baidu, Belle find good fit in Yougou ost), and leading online apparel seller Vancl is reportedly in the process of an IPO that many believe will do well despite weak investor sentiment toward Chinese companies in general. Leading Web commerce company Alibaba also made headlines last month when it split its Taobao unit into three pieces, a move aimed at breaking out the more profitable online B2C store business from the more problematic online auction C2C site. (previous post) All these companies are clearly chasing a growing Chinese Internet market that now numbers more than 500 million users, many of whom like to shop online as such transactions become easier and provide more choice and quality guarantees to traditional brick-and-mortar stores. As the market develops, Yougou looks like it’s in a nice mainstream niche and should be an interesting company that, depending on its finances, could make an IPO in the next 2-3 years.

Bottom line: Online footwear seller Yougou looks like a smart investment for backers Baidu and Belle International, with potential for big growth and an IPO in the next 2-3 years.

电子商务目前在中国非常热门，鉴於鞋类销售网优购网日前获投资，服饰似乎是最新的一个热门领域。相关新闻说法略有些矛盾，但共识是，优购网在新一轮融资中筹到上亿美元，一些报导称，该融资具体金额约为4.5亿美元，投资者包括香港上市的鞋类销售商百丽国际<1880.HK>和网络搜索巨头百度<BIDU.O>。一直以来，我并不看好百度的各种电子商务举措，尤其是失败的百度有啊网站，但这次百度和百丽联手投资看似颇具潜力。电子商务领域近期各种动向均表明该领域极具增长潜力。沃尔玛<WMT.N>5月收购中国在线零售商1号店股权，有报导称凡客诚品正在准备首次公开募股（IPO），许多人认为，尽管对中国企业投资者情绪普遍偏弱，但凡客诚品IPO或会有良好表现。阿里巴巴集团上月将淘宝网分拆为三家独立公司，意在将盈利的B2C业务同问题重重的C2C业务分离。上述公司显然都加紧在中国互联网市场发展步伐，中国网络用户目前已突破5亿，许多人喜欢网上购物，因为交易更容易，选择更多，而且有质量保证。随着网购市场的发展，优购网看似发展方向不错，根据其财务状况，公司或会在未来两三年上市。

一句话：优购网增长潜力巨大，并有望在未来两三年上市，百度和百丽投资优购网似乎是明智之举。

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