China Internet: Money in Russia, Sex Toys 京东商城拟开拓俄罗斯市场 成人用品网站获大笔融资
I’ll close out this week with a couple of interesting Internet items, including one that has overheated e-commerce giant Jingdong Mall looking at expansion into Russia and the other that has a sex toy site getting a nice chunk of new funding. It seems China’s Internet and the big growth opportunities it offers aren’t just for kids! Let’s start with the Jingdong news, as that’s probably the more significant of the 2 developments since it involves the company’s first foray outside its home China market.
According to media reports, Jingdong, which is also known as 360Buy, has been co-developing a Russian site to sell consumer electronics with an unnamed local partner since last year. (English article) I have to admit that this is one of the few initiatives that I like from Jingdong Mall of the many we’ve seen from the company over the last year.
Jingdong counts Russian high-tech investor Digitial Sky Technologies (DST) as one of its major backers, and I have no doubt that this Russia initiative is closely linked to that relationship. As a Russian company and tech specialist, DST can help Jingdong with introductions and advice on how to invest and operate in a country where personal connections are still quite important. What’s more, the Russian Internet is still in a more formative stage, meaning there’s probably still room for major new players to emerge.
My only concern is that this is yet another new initiative from Jingdong Mall, which has launched a wide range of other moves in many different directions like online real estate, travel and gaming over the last year. Many of those moves seem poorly conceived, and any initiative at all will ultimately distract the company from its core e-commerce business where competitive remains very fierce. If I were Jingdong Mall, I would pursue this Russia plan but scrap many of the other new initiatives the company has taken lately.
Meantime, media are reporting that an “adult accessory” site operator called Ailv Baojianpin has just landed a nifty 300 million yuan in venture funding, equating to nearly $50 million. Seeking to confirm what exactly was meant by the term “adult accessory”, I took a quick trip to the company’s site at iailv.com and was treated to a smorgasborg of sex toys, most of which are available in the numerous “adult health” shops scattered around most major Chinese cities.
From a purely business standpoint, I have to say that this company looks quite interesting as it’s the first major player I’ve heard about in this area. While other parts of the Internet like e-commerce, video sharing and search are already quite crowded, sex toys seem like a sector that still lacks any major players even though it should see strong growth in the years ahead. Ordering online also allows a higher degree of anonymity for buyers than traditional sex toy shops.
Of course, the big risk factor is that Beijing regulators could decide to close Ailv’s site at any time as part of one of their never-ending crackdowns on unhealthy activity on the Internet. I’m sure the investor in this rumored round of funding is well aware of that reality, and will probably try to recoup its investment as soon as possible, perhaps in the next 2 or 3 years. We could even seen an eventual IPO out of this company, though I doubt it would be very large and only investors with a healthy appetite for risk are likely to buy shares.
Bottom line: Jingdong Mall’s rumored move into Russia looks smart, drawing on ties with one of its major investors, while fast growing sex toy seller Ailv looks like a risky investment.
Related postings 相关文章:
