Aihuishou debuts in New York, Chinese brands sell big in 618: Retailheads

Aihuishou IPO up 23% on its debut in New York. Huitongda, a supply chain company focusing on rural Chinese retailers, applied for an initial public offering in Hong Kong. China’s e-commerce platforms wrap up the biggest 618 shopping festival to date. Amazon blacklists three Chinese sellers for soliciting positive reviews with gifts.

Aihuishou debuts, Huitongda to come

• Used electronics reseller Aihuishou debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on June 18. The JD.com-backed company saw its shares jump about 23% on the first trading day. (Caixin Global)
• Huitongda, a company providing supply chain services and other services to rural retailers in China, filed an initial public offering to be listed in Hong Kong on June 18. Key investors include China International Capital Corporation, Citibank, and China Renaissance. Despite operating on a loss, the company’s revenue had grown from RMB 29.8 billion to RMB 49.6 billion ($4.6 billion to $7.7 billion) from 2018 to 2020. (Sina Finance, in Chinese)
• Chinese online used car dealer Uxin secured up to $315 million in new investment from Nio Capital and Joy Capital. More than 10 key investors have agreed to hold their investment for nine months. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-listed company reached agreements with its holders of convertible notes (financial instruments that can convert into stocks), including 58.com, TPG and Warburg Pincus, to convert their notes into $69 million of Class A share of the company. (TechNode China, in Chinese)

618 shopping festival

• Chinese brands performed well during the 618 shopping festival. Local brands accounted for 73% of brands that did more than RMB 100 million in sales, according to Citic Securities. Citic did not calculate the share of sales represented by these brands. Chinese smartphone maker Realme saw its sales surge 30 times from last year, according to retail giant JD.com. Domestic cosmetic brands Perfect Diary and Florasis (Hua Xizi) topped the sales chart in the cosmetics and fragrance category. (Citic Securities, in Chinese)
• Some Chinese online retailers saw record-high sales numbers during the 618 festival. JD.com increased its total transaction volume by 28% to RMB 343.8 billion, while Suning.com’s sales volume was up 129% compared to last year, according to the companies. ByteDance’s Douyin launched its own version of 618 called the “Good Things Festival,” pairing brands with livestreamers in thousands of limited-time promotional events. (Pandaily)

Amazon bans three Chinese brands

• Amazon banned three Chinese merchants after they solicited positive reviews with gifts. The brands, RAVPower power banks, Taotronics earphones, and VAVA cameras, were found offering gift cards to customers in exchange for good reviews and were subsequently barred from selling on the platform on June 16. Shenzhen-based electronics company Sunvalley owns the three brands. (SCMP)