Online luxury fashion retailer Xiu.com brushes aside Hong Kong’s luxury retail downturn, saying mainland Chinese customers are still spending up – but online.
“While Luxury sales are decreasing in Hong Kong, Xiu.com keeps growing fast because it enables Chinese consumers to buy premium brand products without travelling,” the company said in a statement confirming a US$30 million capital injection from private equity last month.
In January, sales of jewellery, watches, and valuable gifts decreased 21.4 per cent in Hong Kong. But Xiu.com says Chinese luxury demand is holding up.
Despite Chinese consumers’ historic tendency to shop for luxury goods when they travel abroad, Xiu.com says they are now showing more willingness to purchase luxury goods online.
More than 600 overseas companies, including Salvatore Ferragamo, Blue Nile, and Hugo Boss, are partnering with Xiu.com, and nearly 200 of them sell exclusively on Xiu.com to Chinese online shoppers.
More than 10 million consumers have registered with Xiu.com and more than 85 per cent of orders come from repeated buyers. The average order value is US$240.
Xiu.com says it will use its fresh $30 million capital injection to connect more western brands with online shoppers in China.
Launched in 2008, Xiu.com sells international branded fashion products, including clothing, cosmetics, bags, jewellery, shoes and homewares.
“As an online-fashion leading company, Xiu.com operates advanced logistic networks that cover Europe and the US,” said Ji Wenhong, founder and CEO.
“Working directly with established international companies, Xiu.com could offer a variety of International brand products and offer Chinese consumers in-season fashion products with lower price than those in other markets.”
“We are very confident in Xiu.com after we studied the Chinese eCommerce market for a long time,” said Tan Changwen, a partner in PVP.
“We will support Xiu.com’s strategic development, especially in increasing its efforts of mobile e-commerce and expansions in Asia markets.”
Xiu.com will use the funds to consolidate its international supply chain network and to invest into the project of connecting offline stores in western countries with online shoppers.
“We help stores in western countries sell their inventories on Xiu.com,” Ji said. “We could increase our product offerings rapidly, while consumers could benefit from more selections for new-arrival products.”
The Shenzhen based company also plans to use the funds to prepare its forthcoming IPO.