Club Factory, the Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform, has raised US$100 million in a fresh round of financing. 

The new Series D round, details of which have only just emerged, was led by a Chinese venture-capital company Qiming Venture Partners and also included existing Club Factory shareholders Li Feng’s Frees Fund and German media company Bertelsmann. 

Founded in 2016 by Vincent Lou, Club Factory has grown to become India’s third-largest online shopping app based on monthly active users, having surpassed Snapdeal. Given the domination of the Chinese market by giants like Alibaba, JD and NetEase, Club Factory has been focusing on growth opportunities outside the mainland. 

“India has the world’s second-largest population with the purchasing power parity ranking third worldwide,” said Lou in a recent interview. “A huge market like this undoubtedly has diversified market demand.”

Lou believes Indian consumers prefer a more open e-commerce platform than is provided by major players. 

“This is the main reason why Club Factory can rapidly develop in [India]”.