Vancl Reportedly Closing The Seventh Round of $200 million Financing

Vancl, a branded apparel e-commerce service, is about to close a new round of $200 million financing, according to an insider (report in Chinese). Vancl has secured overall $422 million in the previous six rounds of financing from IDG Capital Partners, Ceyuan, Qiming Venture Partners, among others.

The competition among e-commerce retailers reached a feverish pitch after Vancl received the latest round of financing in Dec. 2011. The company launched a series of measures to increase competitiveness, such as, clearing the inventories, reducing business lines, acquiring the brand Crucco and spinning of express unit Rufengda.

In addition, Vancl also introduced lots of third-party brands. The company’s CEO Chen Nian said this May that Vancl’s strategic focus in 2013 is to open up, but it will not give up homegrown bands.

The firm denied the recent rumor that Vancl has slashed 50 percent of workforces.