Amazon 3C sellers become the executed persons! A large number of employees gathered on CEO's Weibo to demand their wages online

In early January, Yien.com reported that Amazon 3C sellers had laid off a large number of employees and held up banners to demand their wages. Now, a month has passed, but Black Shark Technology has not fulfilled its previous promise, and a large number of employees have not received the overdue compensation.

The Black Shark Technology CEO's Weibo comment section has become a large-scale salary-demanding scene

Under the Weibo post released by Black Shark Technology CEO Luo Yuzhou on February 5, many employees are still seeking overdue compensation.

It is understood that Black Shark Technology started layoffs in August 2022 , and carried out about five rounds of layoffs . Among them, the mobile phone department and VR department became the hardest hit areas for layoffs. By the end of December 2022 , almost all of them were laid off . Only the Internet business and basic functional departments currently retain more than 100 employees . The number of layoffs in the five rounds accounted for as high as 80%.

According to Black Shark Technology employees, the company's assets have been sold and transferred, and the original office location in Shanghai has been vacated .

Black Shark Technology sent a text message to some employees stating that the severance pay could not be paid in full as agreed for the time being, and that the company would try its best to find a solution to the funding problem and strive to pay the remaining severance pay as soon as possible.

It is understood that Black Shark Technology has at least five to six hundred employees who have been owed compensation this time, and the total amount of compensation is approximately 70 to 80 million yuan .

The resigned employees said that before leaving, Black Shark agreed with them that the compensation would be paid in six installments from January 10 to June 10. On January 10, most of the resigned employees only received 2,000 yuan in payments, and a few employees said they did not receive any compensation.

Now, as the agreed payment date of February 10 approaches, it remains unknown whether Black Shark Technology can make the payment as promised.

Black Shark Technology has gone from being the top gaming phone brand to being the person subject to enforcement

Once upon a time, Black Shark Technology was the number one brand of gaming phones , but now it has fallen into a situation where it has suffered massive layoffs, company lease terminations, and is unable to pay compensation.

What is even more regrettable is that Black Shark Technology has become the party subject to execution.

On January 28, 2023, Tianyancha App showed that Nanchang Black Shark Technology Co., Ltd. had become the person subject to execution, with the execution target of 60,992 yuan , and the executing court was the People's Court of Nanchang Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Some industry insiders said that Black Shark Technology couldn't even come up with more than 60,000 yuan? How should it pay the high wages and compensation for employees?

According to the information on the Tianyancha App , Nanchang Black Shark Technology Co., Ltd. was established in August 2017 with a registered capital of approximately RMB 73.08 million. It is jointly held by Tianjin Venus Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Nanchang Jinkai Capital Management Co., Ltd., Nanchang Golden Shark Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership), and Nanchang Yinzhong Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership).

Black Shark Technology Company is mainly engaged in software development, research and development, production and sales of mobile phones, computers, communications and other electronic equipment; production and sales of headphones; production and sales of mobile power supplies, mobile phone accessories, backpacks, data cables; sales of clothing, daily necessities, small accessories, etc.

Moreover, Black Shark Technology's brand Black Shark has also laid out its overseas market early. On Amazon US, Black Shark's products include gaming phones, keyboards, headphones, mice and mouse pads, and many of its products have a rating of more than 5,000.

However, Black Shark Technology's overseas business does not seem to have been affected by the layoffs and salary demands. Currently, many " Black Shark" products are still being sold normally on the Amazon platform .

As a representative brand of gaming phones, Black Shark Technology was once very successful.

In April 2018 , Black Shark Technology released the first high-end gaming phone in China . With its innovative external handles, physical buttons, liquid cooling and other functions and designs, it was widely welcomed by consumers and its sales reached hundreds of thousands of units.

By 2019, Black Shark Technology had become the leader in the gaming phone market, with a market share of 47%, ranking first.

At its peak , Black Shark Technology accounted for more than 70% of the gaming phone market share .

Subsequently, many mobile phone manufacturers also saw the business opportunities in the gaming phone market and began to launch e-sports versions of mobile phones. Lenovo launched the Savior, ZTE launched the Red Magic, vivo launched the iQOO, and realme also launched an e-sports phone .

As competition in the gaming phone market becomes increasingly fierce, Black Shark Technology's market share has begun to decline.

By the first quarter of 2021, Black Shark gaming phones ' market share had dropped to 13%.

Therefore, Black Shark Technology began to focus on the Metaverse market and planned to shift its business focus from gaming phones to VR devices.

It has applied to register multiple trademarks related to the Metaverse, including "Meta Black Shark", "Black Shark Metaverse", "Black Shark META", "Multiverse" and "Black Shark Multiverse", as well as "Black Shark AR/VR" and other related names.

At the beginning of 2022, there were media reports that Tencent planned to acquire Black Shark Technology with a bid of about 2.6-2.7 billion yuan. After the acquisition is completed, Black Shark will be integrated into the Platform and Content Business Group (PCG) led by Ren Yuxin .

In May 2022, relevant media reported that Tencent had abandoned its acquisition plan of Black Shark Technology .

According to 36Kr, citing people familiar with the matter, one of the reasons why the acquisition was stranded was that Black Shark's mobile phone ranked first in terms of shipments in the gaming phone segment, which raised suspicion of monopoly, and therefore it was not approved when it was submitted to the relevant authorities.

At the same time, some media reported that Black Shark's actual R&D capabilities did not meet Tencent 's expectations in its attempt to turn to VR .

However, Black Shark Technology CEO Luo Yuzhou said : "Tencent will not acquire Black Shark Technology." At the same time, Luo Yuzhou also said that Black Shark Technology still has financing and acquisition plans.

However, it is understood that Black Shark Technology has invested a lot of money in the research and development of VR gaming equipment . Under the influence of various practical factors, Black Shark Technology's cash flow has encountered serious problems, and the path of seeking financing has also failed.

Some employees of Black Shark Technology believe that Black Shark's full-scale focus on VR business in 2022 was a decision-making mistake. After the investors gave up their investment, the capital chain was broken, which led to the current situation that is unable to be saved.

When the tide recedes, some people will be left stranded. As the competition in the mobile phone market is quite fierce, the segmented gaming mobile phone market will soon face the dilemma of disappearing industry dividends.

According to data from the research organization Whale Consultants , the overall scale of the gaming phone market has shrunk significantly in 2022. From January to September 2022 , the cumulative sales of gaming phones were about 3.2 million units, a year- on-year decrease of nearly 40%; the cumulative sales amount was about 7.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 39%.

After the highlight of gaming phones faded , Black Shark Technology tried to transform into VR and AR . However, after the financing failed and several rounds of layoffs, the VR team was almost wiped out. Black Shark Technology was unable to continue and fell to the bottom.

Person subject to execution

Employees demanding wages