The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Chinese short video and livestreaming platform, Kuaishou, went public in Hong Kong today, raising almost $5.4 billion.
After listing shares with an initial price of HK$115 ($15), TikTok’s biggest domestic rival in China saw its price rise 194 percent at the opening of trading, representing a valuation of $180 billion.
According to financials Kuaishou submitted prior to the IPO, its revenue in 2019 reached 40.7 billion yuan ($6.3 billion), mainly from its live broadcast, advertising and e-commerce businesses. Its average daily users reached 263.8 million in November 2020. These users come mainly from China’s lower-tier cities and regional areas, but Kuaishou has been focused on upgrading its content and reaching users in high-tier cities in order to grow.
The platform has also increased its investment in fashion and beauty categories as part of this content upgrade. Last April, livestream host known as Shidapiaoliang sold 520 million yuan ($80.5 million) in high-end beauty products in a single broadcast. Kuaishou has also worked with e-commerce platform, Secoo, to sell 105 million yuan ($16.25 million) in luxury goods via livestream last June.
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.