Luxe.Co China Investment Weekly 2017/09/02~09/08

Luxe.Co launched “Luxe.Co China Investment Weekly” in 2016, reporting weekly updates on investment and financing in the China fashion and lifestyle industries. The updates cover fashion, beauty care, food and beverage, sports and fitness, hotel and travel, household products, culture and creativity, and other related fields.

Fashion Brands 

• Jewelry handcraft brand Augusmith obtained 20 million yuan Series A investment

The jewelry brand combining handcraft workshop and retail services, Augusmith announced on September 5th that they obtained 20 million yuan Series A investment from Yuanjing Venture Capital and Jijiehao Capital. Augusmith provides handcraft workshop and retail services. Their training courses are divided into three tiers according to difficult levels. They are experience courses (for customers who have no previous experience), entry-level comprehensive courses (for customers who wish to become jewelry experts), and entrepreneur training (for customers who wish to become jewelry designers). Their retail products also include three parts, international brands (e.g., Miyuki from Japan, Swarovski from Austria, and Ibility from HK), independent designer brand products and Augusmith’s own handcraft packages (including materials and tutorials). Augusmith has 9 retail stores in 7 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu and Chongqing) currently. Each store has a size of around 150 square meters, in which handcraft area occupies 70 square meters. The workshop average customer spending is from 200 to 300 yuan, and the retail average customer spending is around 1,000 yuan.

• Affordable luxury optical collection brand Coterie obtained tens of millions of yuan Series A investment

Affordable luxury optical collection brand Coterie announced on September 5th that they obtained tens of millions of yuan Series A investment. The investment was led by Panda Venture Capital and followed by Hemei Group. The investment will be mainly used on opening retail stores, collaborating with other brands, expanding distribution channels and team construction. Coterie was established in early 2013. With their own retail store distribution, Coterie is the agent for more than 100 brands currently, including Christopher Kane, Karen Walker and China independent designer brands JINNNN, Percy Lau and so on. Coterie also has wholesale business through their domestic and international distribution channels, and collaborates with designers and celebrities for limited collections. In August 2017, Coterie collaborated with Korean celebrity Jessica Jung, and released limited collection of sunglasses. Coterie has over 20 retail stores in 11 cities currently. They expect to expand to over 30 stores by the end of 2017.

• Anta Sports plans to acquire kids wear brand KINGKOW

There is news on September 6th that Anta Sports (02020.HK) will acquire Hong Kong's medium-to-high-end kids wear brand KINGKOW for 60 million Hong Kong dollars. KINGKOW was established in 1998, focusing on baby clothing and kids casual wear. KINGKOW targets medium to high end customers with spring/summer sets priced at 400 HKD and autumn/winter sets priced at 500 HKD. Currently KINGKOW has covered regions including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, the U.S.A., Australia and so on. KINGKOW has around 150 retail stores in Asia and stores in 45 cities in Mainland China, mainly in the middle and eastern regions. Shopping malls are their main distribution channels.

Fashion Online Platform

• Jewelry online platform KUANDD.com obtained 70 million yuan Series B+ investment

The jewelry B2B online supply chain platform, KUANDD announced on September 4th that they obtained 70 million yuan Series B+ investment from Sinovation Ventures. KUANDD obtained 60 million yuan Series B investment in November 2016. The new investment will be mainly used on building overall jewelry industry big data platform. KUANDD was established in early 2015, providing SaaS System for both jewelry factories and retail stores. Through jewel industry data collection, KUANDD applies big data analysis method to forecast best-selling items and duration. Retailers can track real-time data of every sales transaction on retail terminals, and adjust strategies according to market feedback. KUANDD has worked with China Gold, Sino Gem, Chow Tai Seng, Laomiao Jewelry, Diamend and many China jewelry brands. KUANDD has an annual sales turnover of over 100 million yuan in 2016. (Note: The co-founder of KUANDD.com is the first batch student at Orange Bay University)

• Womenswear monthly rental platform YI23.net obtained 50 million US dollar Series C investment

Womenswear monthly rental platform YI23.net announced on September 6th that they obtained 50 million US dollar Series C investment. The investment arrangement was led jointly by Alibaba, SoftBank China and Sequoia Capital, and followed by previous investors GSR Ventures, IDG Capital, Panlin Capital, angel investor Gang Wang, Zhizhuo Capital, Zhen Fund, UVM and so on. The investment will be mainly used on further enhancing platform strategy, upgrading back-end intelligence level, recruiting talents, continuously optimizing customer experience and expanding customer base. YI123 was established in January 2015. Transformed from a high-end evening dress short-term rental platform Jiuwu, currently YI123 focuses on womenswear rental sharing and provides monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual membership services. YI23 shares profits with brands according to their rental and sales proceeds. YI23 cooperates with hundreds of third-party brands currently, with an average retail price of 1,500 yuan.

Food and Beverage

• Light snack brand Jipaige (JPG) obtained tens of millions of yuan angel investment

Light snack brand Jipaige (JPG) announced on September 2nd that they obtained tens of millions of yuan angel investment in July 2017. The investment was led by Zhen Fund, and followed by multiple institutional investors and an individual investor, Xiaohong Chen, the founder of H Capital China Region. The investment will be mainly used on retail store expansion. JPG plans to expand another 5 stores in Shanghai by the end of 2017. JPG was established in January 2017, featuring products including fried chicken, hamburgers, tea drinks, coffee and so on. JPG has three directly managed retail stores in Shanghai currently, with a monthly sales turnover of nearly one million yuan per store.

Hotel and Travel 

• Travel platform LVBANGW.COM obtained 10 million yuan angel investment

Travel platform LVBANGW.com announced on September 7th that they obtained 10 million yuan angel investment from Hucheng Technology. LVBANGW was established in 2016, providing customized tours and local specialty sales services mainly through retail stores, supplemented by online e-commerce platform. Featuring industrial tours, LVBANGW mainly covers Fujian area and assists factories to link industrial production process and tourism experience, transforming the industrial zone into a tourist area.

Others

• Office convenient snack shelf provider 7Kola obtained 50 million yuan Series A investment

Office convenient snack shelf provider 7Kola announced on September 7th that they obtained 50 million yuan Series A investment. The investment arrangement was led by Zhiyi Venture Capital and followed by Matrix Partners. 7Kola was established in February 2017. Considering turnover ratios, 7Kola only works with companies with over 50 employees. 7Kola has acquired nearly 3,000 office outlets from its official operation till now. The average gross profit margin of their products is 35%. The average daily sales turnover is 120-150 yuan per shelf. The average customer spending is 7-8 yuan.

Note: The above information is based on the company announcement and/or online news. Luxe.Co makes reasonable efforts to obtain reliable content from third parties. Luxe.Co does not guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions given by any third-party content provider.

| Chinese reporter: Jiaqi Wang