KK Guan evolved into KK Group in Series D funding round. eWTP led the USD 100 million investment, followed by N5 Capital and serial investors MatrixPartners China, Heizao capital.
Valued over USD 1 billion, a new unicorn in the retail sector has been brought into being with the largest fundraising so far this year.
KK Group (KK集团, previously named KK Guan), nailed a new round of fundraising with USD 100 million on October 23, 2019. Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), a global e-commerce organization initiated by Alibaba, led in this round of investment, followed by N5 Capital and previous investors MatrixPartners China and Heizao Capital.
In 2014, KK Group made its debut in the retail field by providing snacks, cosmetics, personal care and other imported fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in its brick-and-mortar stores. At the supply chain end, KK Group has adopted standardized stores and direct purchase mode. At the same time, it leverages operation efficiency by connecting online and offline operations.
Wu Yuening (吴悦宁), founder and CEO of KK Group said that their team has been investing in the following three aspects, which will continue to be the focus after the completion of financing:
Continue to invest in the multi-brand matrix: after KK Guan, the company has launched two new brands 'KKV' and 'THE COLORIST' this May, focusing on home and fashion cosmetics respectively;
Strengthen the construction of overseas supply chain and distributing system;
Tap more on social e-commerce of its online sector: but overall, KK Group's main focus is on offline stores. The online part is to assist physical stores to form a positive cycle.
The two new brands mentioned above have exceeded the team's expectations in the spread of social media and the performance of the store.
KKV positioned itself as a lifestyle collection store. It realized that the first floors of many shopping malls are in the conundrum of brands aging and have been facing the scarcity of new brands with high-quality.
Therefore, the KKV entered in shopping mall's first floor with a standardized area of 1,000 square meters. The team revealed that since May, KKV has opened more than a dozen stores, with an average income of CNY 2.5 million per month for a single store and a maximum income of four to five million per month. In Wuhan, Dongguan and other cities, KKV ranked first in the Dian Ping category list.
The other new trail, THE COLORIST, was launched in Guangzhou and Shenzhen on this year's national day.
Unlike other traditional cosmetics channels, THE COLORIST abandoned skincare and only operated color cosmetics categories. With a standard store area of about 300 to 400 square meters.
Through the buyer buyout system, THE COLORIST has cooperated with 70 cosmetics brands to provide more than 6,000 SKUs, including international emerging brands, high-quality domestic brands and some other niche brands. In Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the average number of visiting is 14,000 per day per store, and the per square meter revenue can reach CNY 12,000, which is at a rapid growth rate.