Click 'Read Original' for details. Multiple industry insiders recently revealed to Ebrun that Meicai.com has secured nearly 1 billion yuan in investment, with the investor possibly being its early backer Shunwei Capital. It is unclear whether other institutions are co-investing. According to informed sources, this round of financing will mainly be used for the layout of its community group buying project, Meijia Youxiang. Regarding this round of financing, due to the huge amount involved, Ebrun has received two different accounts after multiple verifications: one suggests that the entire 1 billion yuan will be injected into Meijia Youxiang, and Meicai will focus on this area in the future. Another says that about 200 million yuan will be invested in Meijia Youxiang, with the rest used to develop Meicai's B2B business. Meicai.com has a close relationship with Shunwei Capital. According to public information, Shunwei Capital was one of the investors in Meicai's Series B round. Meicai has completed seven rounds of financing, and after the last round, its valuation was close to $3 billion. In the layout of rural internet, Meicai has always been a key focus for Lei Jun. He has publicly stated, "The rural internet industry is our most core investment area for the next decade." According to the tipster, the Meijia Youxiang project is highly valued by Lei Jun, Chairman of Shunwei Capital, and Liu Chuanjun, CEO of Meicai, with Lei Jun personally chairing relevant meetings. "Meicai is a B2B unicorn that has always wanted to enter the 2C market. After reviewing many models, it decided to do community group buying, namely Meijia Youxiang. Liu Chuanjun and Lei Jun have many strategic consultations, and the decision for Meicai to invest heavily in Meijia Youxiang was set at their meetings. Lei Jun mentioned at a joint meeting with Meicai to 'ALL IN' on Meijia Youxiang," the source told Ebrun. Meanwhile, the CEO of a fresh food supply chain company also revealed the same news to Ebrun. He said that while discussing community group buying with an investor, he learned that Meicai's Meijia Youxiang had raised 1 billion yuan. He added, "This is good for the industry. Shunwei and Meicai's aggressive moves prove the viability of community group buying, but it also means the barrier for new entrants is getting higher." Regarding the 1 billion amount, he said, "In the community group buying track, investing 1 billion is not too much. This field has the potential to disrupt Pinduoduo in the future." "Whether it's 200 million or 1 billion, this is undoubtedly a deep-water bomb for the entire fresh produce e-commerce and the community group buying sector, which is currently at a 'hot spot.' If true, this is clearly the biggest dark horse this year," the aforementioned tipster believes. Although such a heavy investment in a new project might seem excessive, the whole industry welcomes this 'vitality,' "After all, only when a unicorn enters will it cause bigger waves and attention; previously, it was all small-scale." Ebrun sought confirmation from Shunwei Capital's PR and Meicai's relevant personnel, but as of press time, neither had responded. It is understood that Meicai.com was founded in 2014 and provides vegetable procurement services to 2.5 million restaurants in about 100 cities nationwide. Meijia Youxiang, whose full name is Beijing Meixian Technology Co., Ltd., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meicai.com. It launched in June 2018, and its general manager, Chen Shilong, is Meicai's third employee. Note: The image is from Qichacha. Meixian Technology is the full company name for Meijia Youxiang, and Yunshan Technology is the entity for Meicai.com. Liu Chuanjun and Xu Xueyin are Meicai's CEO and CTO, respectively, and hold 80% and 20% stakes in Meixian Technology. Interestingly, this project, which has been online for just over three months, claims to have opened groups in nearly 40 cities (with a target of entering 100 cities by the end of 2018), with nearly 10,000 group leaders. Its products are mainly fruits, but also include vegetables, meat, eggs, aquatic products, snacks, dairy, light meals, grains and oils, and beverages, totaling about 30-50 SKUs, updated daily. "The astonishing growth rate reflects Meijia Youxiang's ambition for rapid expansion, and also shows the lethality of community group buying leveraging social traffic and group-buying fission," said a community group buying entrepreneur in Changsha. Many similar projects can grow rapidly in a short period, with monthly GMV reaching tens of millions or even exceeding 100 million. According to Meijia Youxiang's BD staff, the Beijing team has about 60 people and is recruiting in many cities: Beijing, Changsha, Jinan, Tangshan, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Linyi, Langfang, Suzhou, etc. Most of the recruits are partners called 'Yuexiangjia,' i.e., 'group leaders.' "Group leaders earn a 5%-10% commission from sales. The conditions for starting a group are very simple: just need a delivery point and a WeChat group of 80 people." It is worth noting that although Meijia Youxiang started with community group buying, it is not limited to that concept but replicates the model on this basis. In addition to community groups, there are student groups and white-collar groups, targeting university students and white-collar workers respectively. Therefore, in the Beijing area, Meijia Youxiang first chose Zhongguancun, Huilongguan, Xizhimen, etc., as model testing grounds. Ebrun learned that, including Meijia Youxiang, there are currently more than 100 community group buying startups nationwide. Linlinyi, Niwonin, Shihuituan, Shixianghui—community group buying startups keep emerging and announcing financing of hundreds of millions. Meiri Yitao Yiqipin and others are also rising rapidly. For a time, the confused venture capital circle emerged from the disappointment of blockchain and unattended vending machines, seemingly discovering the beginning of the next story. Overview of Community Group Buying Enterprises This model has attracted attention because it is a rare profitable method for fresh products so far. An industry insider said: "Community group buying can form positive cash flow and profitability in about 3 months. Low investment, quick returns, suitable for investors' tastes. Even if it doesn't become a big platform, the financial return on investment is considerable." Therefore, even in the current capital winter, community group buying investment is still in full swing. According to statistics, since August alone, more than 10 community group buying companies have received financing. Shihuituan is the community group project of social e-commerce "Youhaodongxi." In August, it received 100 million yuan in angel financing from ZhenFund, Qiming Capital, Joy Capital, and Youhaodongxi. Its CEO, Wang Peng, has experienced the "thousand-group war" and community O2O. He shared his judgment on the industry landscape with Ebrun: (Now, community group buying has reached) a stage of rapid expansion, competing on capital resources and execution. In 3-6 months, two or three super giants will emerge, and then in the next 6-12 months, it will compete on supply chain and efficiency. Ultimately, whoever has stronger supply chain and efficiency will dominate the market and even win. Many industry insiders agreed with Wang Peng's view when discussing the development trend of community group buying. "Everyone is watching. JD, Pagoda, Meituan, etc., have all conducted in-depth research on the industry. This time, Shunwei's investment and Meicai's 1 billion entry are consistent with previous judgments. The first giant has entered, and a small climax in the track has arrived. But the industry's big climax has not yet come, and it deserves continued attention," said an investor focusing on community group buying. (Text by Qin Chuan) Source: Ebrun October 23-24, during the Autumn Sugar and Wine Fair, the '2018 FMCG City Distribution Logistics Conference' hosted by New Distribution will be held. We will invite industry bigwigs, FMCG warehousing and distribution experts, and distributors who have transformed to unified warehousing and distribution platforms to discuss and answer questions about future development trends of FMCG city distribution logistics and practical cases of distributor transformation, hoping to bring you different inspiration and thinking! The specific agenda is as follows: List of Participating Companies In no particular order Hunan Zonglan Diandan Network Technology Co., Ltd. Jingbang (Wuhan) International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. Mengniu Dairy Qinghai Hanxiang E-commerce Co., Ltd. Unilever Service (Hefei) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch Huicong Hunan Xuanang Food Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Tongdaoren Information Technology Co., Ltd. Qingdao 888 Trading Co., Ltd. Uni-President Enterprises (China) Investment Co., Ltd. Hunan Province Zhongxiang Gongpei Logistics Co., Ltd. Shenglong Ingredients COSCO Shipping Logistics Warehousing and Distribution Co., Ltd. Guangxi Yongpai Liquor Co., Ltd. Shangqiu Kangrong Trading Co., Ltd. Jinan Dingzhong Economic and Trade Co., Ltd. Liaoning Bimai Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. Kunming Xiongjia Trading Co., Ltd. Shaanxi Houheng Trading Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Dingwo Enterprise Information Consulting Co., Ltd. Shaodong Jiajiale Commercial Firm Boda Trading Industrial Bank Changsha Branch Wuhan Muchen Convenience Store Chain Co., Ltd. Fujian Fuxing YunCang Logistics Co., Ltd. Guizhou Yilimi E-commerce Co., Ltd. Jiangxi Xiao Laoer E-commerce Co., Ltd. Jinshan Koufu Shanxi Taihang Yuanjing Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Shanxi Dezhun Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Shaoyang Tongdeli Trading (Xiangbang Logistics) Huanfu Tongda Express City Distribution Beijing Xinjingxiang Food Co., Ltd. Wuhan Huizhong Tianhong Liquor Co., Ltd. Changsha Paide Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Chaoan Tuqiang Guizhou Yihe Bopin Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Jiangxi Kang'en Industrial Development Co., Ltd. Xiangtan County Yisuhe Town Yuhua Paper Store Luoyang Yuanlang Trading Co., Ltd. Tongchuan Yaozhou District Huayuan Supermarket Co., Ltd. Hunan Yongfu Jiujiu Trading Co., Ltd. Zhejiang Chengchengtong Logistics Co., Ltd. Chongqing Kaiguo Materials Trading Co., Ltd. Beijing Xianmaixianmai Data Technology Co., Ltd. Hanchuan Qixing Trading Co., Ltd. Tongxin Jiuzhi Trading Co., Ltd. Guizhou Meiguo Guoguo Network Technology Co., Ltd. ...... Distributor Transformation Representatives (Proposed) In no particular order Jiangsu Huashang City Distribution Network Co., Ltd. Chairman, Rong Jun Hubei Yijiaren Logistics Co., Ltd. Chairman, Wang Bo Sichuan Chengdu Xingrenxing Trading Co., Ltd. General Manager, Jiang Shuming Shandong Yunbang Warehousing and Logistics Co., Ltd. Chairman, Liu Jichen Chongqing Lingyu Consumer Goods Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Chairman, Tu Mingyu Guangzhou Zhongshan Wanrong Marketing Co., Ltd. Chairman, Yang Su Sichuan Bajie Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Chairman, Yuan Xia Hubei Pengdun Meiyitian Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Co-founder, Li Qiangyun Henan Xuchang Jiulegou E-commerce Co., Ltd. Chairman, Zhang Jianyong Hebei Changyi Logistics Co., Ltd. Founder, Ma Haichao Hebei (Chengde) Wulian YunCang Co., Ltd. General Manager, Meng Yucun Xinjiang Urumqi Su'an Jinchi Logistics Co., Ltd. Chairman, Zhang Xun Jilin Sansheng Lianguo Chairman, Zhang Hailing Hebei Dunjie Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Founder, Qiang Huitao Hunan Damei Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. General Manager, Liao Lei ...... -END-