KPCB Invests in China's No.1 Fashion E-commerce Site: XIU.com

"We were inspired by many successful B2C fashion websites in U.S. and Europe," said Mr. George (Wenhong) Ji, Founder and CEO of Xiu.com, "And compared with them, we still have at least 1000% growth potential in China". Mr. Ji also said with the fund, the company will improve negotiating and purchasing ability with big international names, to grasp better cost advantages and bring more luxury and fashion brands into China.

Unlike some Chinese e-commerce sites who are selling cheap "made in china" products abroad, Xiu.com is doing "Reverse B2C", which sources branded fashion products overseas and sells them in China. In the coming two years, Xiu.com is planning to invest more than 30 million USD on enlarging Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) and purchasing scale, as well as improving service quality. Zhou Wei, partner of KPCB China predicted that with the fast growth of China's e-commerce and middle class, online shopping has entered a quality-oriented era.

"It's a big challenge for rising e-commerce websites to connect with local elite consumers," Zhou said, "But Xiu.com has a distinct advantage in global sourcing, supply chain management and team competence." With the expanding netizen basis and middle class, as well as China's online shopping market, more and more overseas brands are developing sales arms in China, making internet an effective channel. Meanwhile, with the popularity of third party electronic payment platform and a mature logistics system, China's online shopping has stepped into the golden age.

Xiu.com, founded in March 2008, is a vertical e-commerce company offering middle to luxury brand name fashion products - clothing, shoes, bags, ornaments, cosmetics and home decor. The company has been offering fashion services to more than two million Chinese internet elites for the past three years. Xiu.com has 10 buyer offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Australia, Paris, London, Italy, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.

According to latest stats of January, 2011, Xiu.com has a collection of 2,000+ brands online, among which 120 are global luxury brands, and SKU number exceeding 30,000. iResearch reports, Xiu.com has become the No.1 fashion e-commerce website in China.

Positioned as a global top fashion e-commerce site, Xiu.com now sells a variety of fashion products, 25% luxury, 30% prestigious brands and 45% local quality brands. 60% of products on Xiu.com are new arrivals or in-season, sold with a discounted price between 95% and 70%. For off-season products, price can be as low as 20%. All products have price advantages over competitors. Xiu.com has also launched an iPad app, offering daily updates and fashion news.