Yoho! raises $10m to integrate online, offline channels
Yoho!, which is one of the largest streetwear fashion group in the Chinese mainland, announced its E series financing on Friday, with the Nanjing, Jiangsu provinceheadquartered group looking to combine its online and offline distribution channels, and explore other business models.
The financing, amounting to over $10 million, is being lead by global venture capital fund C Ventures. The financier has previously backed a number of fashion-related companies, such as British luxury chat and commerce service platform Threads, global fashion search engine Tagwalk, and custom watch label Undone.
Adrian Cheng, co-founder of C Ventures, is also the founder and chairman of art mall brand K11. Yoho! will come to a partnership with K11, said Liang Chao, founder and CEO of Yoho! Group. The collaboration could see Yoho! setting up physical stores in K11 malls, or overseeing the layout for some K11 department stores.
Cheng said that K11 has been active in the mapping of new retail models worldwide, making strategic investments in Europe, the United States and China. The recent cooperation between K11 and Yoho! will also have helped K11 to build closer ties with Chinese millennials and “generation Z”.
Founded in 2005, Yoho! started as a media company, updating Chinese readers on the latest trends in streetwear and fashion. It tapped into the e-commerce industry in 2008, and today the online retail platform contributes more than 90 percent to the group’s annual sales revenue.
The firm opened its first 5,000-square-meter flagship store in Nanjing in October last year. In September, Yoho! opened a smaller-scale physical store named Blu in Shanghai. This chain, with stores of 150 to 500 square meters, aims to sell more affordable streetwear.
“At the very beginning, most of our target consumers are aged between 18 and 25. But we can see that the range has been expanded from 16 to 35 in recent years,” said Liang.
With the latest financing, Liang said Yoho! is aiming for more brick-and-mortar store openings. Up to five flagship stores are planned for the near future. The group is in discussion with leading commercial complex managers in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing to launch up to three Yoho! plazas in the form of larger department stores in the next few years.
The group also says it plans to one day go public, with Hong Kong being the preference.
A recent survey from global market consultancy McKinsey predicted the emerging markets of India, Vietnam and China, to lead global fashion industry growth in 2018, with annual incomes rising by up to 7.5 percent.