E-Commerce: 360Buy Awaits IPO Window, Amazon Expands 京东IPO融资心切 亚马逊物流扩张加剧竞争
There are a few interesting items out there on the e-commerce space, where local giant 360Buy continues to ready itself for a New York IPO while global giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) continues its China expansion but is also learning just how price sensitive local consumers can be. Let’s look first at 360Buy, which also goes by the name Jingdong Mall. The company made headlines last year when it received a $1 billion investment from a group that included Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies (DST), which estimated at that time that 360Buy could be worth $10 billion. (previous post) Since then, the company has been locked in a series of cutthroat price wars in the overheated e-commerce space, most notably with Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), causing it to burn through a big portion of its cash and announce last fall it was preparing for a New York IPO, even though it was still losing big money. (previous post) Now Chinese media are reporting the company has been quietly bringing in a new group of professional top-tier managers as it still readies for the IPO despite several delays. (Chinese article) I’m sure that 360Buy desperately needs cash from the IPO, and that it is just waiting for 1 or 2 Chinese companies to make successful offerings before filing its own prospectus. That said, we could see this offering take place as early as March or April if market sentiment improves. Meantime, media are reporting that Amazon is continuing its aggressive China expansion by opening a new logistics center to serve the Tianjin-Beijing area, following its opening of another massive center near Shanghai last fall. (English article) But I was also amused to read another report that the company is adding a delivery fee to all orders under 29 yuan, in what clearly looks like some frustration at the small size of orders from many Chinese consumers. (Chinese article) My advice to Amazon would be to be careful, as it risks raising the ire of Chinese consumers with this kind of move, and everyone knows that upsets Chinese Internet users are quite effective at running negative backlash campaigns.
Bottom line: Cash-starved 360Buy could launch its IPO as early as March, while Amazon’s rapid expansion will add even more competition to the market.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ 360Buy IPO: Let the Delays Begin 京东商城放缓IPO进程
◙ Amazon Name Shift Signals China Ramp-Up 亚马逊改名背后折射中国野心
◙ More Stumbles for Saab Rescue, 360Buy IPO 搭救萨博和京东商城IPO两计划注定命运多舛
