Consumer Staples Author:Yue Liu Editor:Luke Sheehan Jul 22, 2020 10:15 AM (GMT+8)

After the completion of its Series C+ round of financing, Xingsheng Youxuan is likely to seek an IPO.

Image credit: EqualOcean

According to Chinese media, Xingsheng Youxuan, a community group-buying platform, will soon complete a Series C+ round of financing worth USD 800 million, at a post-investment valuation of USD 4 billion. KKR led the investment, followed by Tencent and Sequoia China.

Established in January 2018,  Xingsheng Youxuan recorded CNY 10 billion GMV in 2019, a YoY increase of 1250%. The company started in Hunan province and has now spread to 12 more regions in China.

The sudden epidemic has brought the community group buying track to a sharp turning point. Its large-scale, contactless delivery features meet the needs of consumers, bringing about a surge in the number of orders and users.

In July 2020, Internet giants have also been targeting the community group buying track to grab the retail market share, including Alibaba (BABA:NYSE) and Meituan (03690:HKEX). Different from traditional fresh food e-commerce platforms, community group buying penetrates low-tier cities, while Meituan and Alibaba completed their layout in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. Although Internet giants have advantages in capital and scale, they are still facing challenges under the situation that has seen Xingsheng Youxuan become deeply involved in supply chain construction over many years.