Chinese e-tailer Club Factory raises $100 mn in Series D round led by Qiming

Cross border e-commerce marketplace Club Factory has raised $100 million in its Series D round led by Chinese venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners. 

Existing investors Bertelsmann Asia Investments, IDG Capital and the US and China-based Frees Fund participated in the funding round. 

Hangzhou, China-headquartered Club Factory had previously raised $100 million in its Series C round in February 2018 from BAI, Frees Fund, IDG Capital, Kunlun Ventures, Zhen Fund and others. 

The company will use the capital raised in the current round to grow its open platform strategy, onboard more local sellers and enhance its data technology, said a statement shared by the company. 

Club Factory began operations in India in 2016 and primarily sells apparel, accessories, home decor and lifestyle products to the budget-conscious buyer.

The cross-border platform recently moved to a marketplace model by onboarding Indian sellers. In June, Club Factory claimed to be the third-largest e-commerce app in India in terms of monthly active users. Its rapid growth has been attributed to its zero commission policy. 

Club Factory had previously said it is in the process to onboard about 10,000 sellers to scale up operations in India. 

“India has the world’s second-largest population with the purchasing power parity (PPP) ranking third worldwide. A huge market like this undoubtedly has diversified market demand, but many players pursue a narrow range of products through a closed ecosystem,” said Vincent Lou, founder of Club Factory in the statement, adding that the Chinese company offers a “more open” platform to its consumers. 

The cross border e-commerce platform has a presence in 26 countries counts, with India as its primary market.  

Club Factory has, on more than one occasion, run into trouble with Indian customs authorities for not paying applicable duties on products imported from Chinese sellers.

It had also temporarily suspended operations earlier this year after its products were intercepted by customs.