Restarting to attract investment? The former cross-border "big guys" are making a comeback

2021 is a "difficult year" for the cross-border e-commerce giant Global Easybuy. Too many changes have taken place this year, and many sellers in the industry have turned their attention to one of the rumored protagonists - the former independent site giant Gearbest.

Gearbest was founded in 2014 and is affiliated with Global Easy Shopping. It is an online shopping platform focusing on electronic products, small appliances and fashionable men's clothing. Since last year, Gearbest has been reported to be shut down, re-launched, and sellers' stores have been permanently frozen .

Gearbest starts recruiting investors again?

After ups and downs, the former leader of independent websites has been plagued by all kinds of news. The number of users, average customer unit price and number of online SKUs have shown a downward trend. Especially after the news that "many platform sellers' stores were permanently frozen" came out in January this year, practitioners have raised the question of "Is Gearbest really completely finished?"

However, just when industry insiders thought that Gearbest might fade out of people's sight from now on, it quietly began to take action, as if it was working hard to "regain favor."

Recently, a supplier said that they received an invitation from Gearbest's investment manager to join the company. The other party said that the 21st of this month is Gearbest's 8th anniversary, and the annual fee can be waived and the account can be settled weekly. At the same time, in response to the supplier's feedback that the "account is frozen", Gearbest's investment manager said that " Gearbest is currently a new company in operation and needs to reopen a store ."

On a social platform, a seller was surprised to find that Gearbest's main account had become active again, after not updating for a year. It is understood that Gearbest's latest update was to build momentum for its eighth anniversary celebration , clearly stating that the anniversary celebration will be held from March 21 to March 27.

The above signs have attracted the attention and heated discussions of many practitioners, and it is easy to understand that Gearbest is about to "make a strong comeback". We still need to wait and see which direction Gearbest will develop in the future, but looking back on Gearbest's development path, it can be said that it is a "mountain road with eighteen bends".

How strong was Gearbest in its "heyday"? The 2018 "BRANDZ Top 50 Chinese Overseas Brands" list shows that Gearbest's ranking and data are not inferior to SHEIN. However, from December 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021, in just half a year, Gearbest's average monthly active users dropped from 26.66 million to 61,400.

Cross-border Communication mentioned in its semi-annual report that it will continue to strengthen its   , Rosegal and others focused on channel brand building, but did not mention Gearbest. In the first half of 2021, ZAFU L   The three major independent clothing brands , Rosegal and Dresslily, have all been incorporated into SAFU.

At this point, we have to mention ZAFU L, which was once on par with Gearbest.   Today, ZAFU L is still thriving, and its products have captured the hearts of young female consumers in Europe, America and Australia. In the past global online fast fashion list, ZAFU L   Second only to SHEIN .

After being separated from Global Easybuy, ZAFU L   ZAFUL CEO Lin Xuchao once said that in 2021 , ZAFU L's overall business was in a climbing stage and encountered some difficulties. After being separated from Global Easybuy, it also tried to reshape its relationship with suppliers at all ends. Judging from the current data, ZAFU L is still very popular and its future development path may be broader.

As the former "heavyweights" of the company, Zaful and Gearbest have very different experiences, but judging from the current situation, both are constantly working hard on the road to progress. Especially the news of Gearbest's investment promotion has increased people's curiosity about this "ill-fated" but still tenacious platform.

The amount involved in the lawsuit exceeds 100 million yuan. Can Cross-Border Link turn losses into profits?

Compared with the sad ending of Global Easy Shopping, its former platforms have been shining brightly. At the same time, many industry insiders are also paying attention to the combat effectiveness of its parent company Cross-border Communication after losing its two trump cards, Patonson and Global Easy Shopping.

According to the latest announcement data, Cross-Border Link 's operating income in 2021 is expected to be 7.8 billion to 9.8 billion yuan, a far cry from 17.021 billion yuan in the same period last year ; its net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies is between 670 million yuan and 980 million yuan; the profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is negative 1.6 billion yuan to negative 2.3 billion yuan.

Regarding the reasons for the performance changes, Cross-border Communication also gave an explanation ↓

The company has fully provided for bad debt reserves of approximately RMB 1.8 billion for accounts receivable of its subsidiary Shenzhen Global , and has provided for estimated liabilities of approximately RMB 200 million for the amount of guaranteed litigation involving Shenzhen Global . From December 2021, Shenzhen Global will no longer be included in the consolidated financial statements of Cross-Border Link.

The subsidiary Paton was sold and investment income of approximately RMB 800 million was recognized . Since May 2021, Paton is no longer included in the scope of the consolidated financial statements.

In this way, Shenzhen Global's debt has seriously dragged down its parent company. Many industry insiders said that they thought that Cross-border Link's sale of cash cow Paton would enable it to turn losses into profits, but now it seems that this is not the case.

According to the latest announcement data released by Cross-border Communication, the company and its subsidiaries have accumulated 20 new lawsuits and arbitrations, involving a total amount of 204.1623 million yuan , accounting for 19.94% of the company's latest audited net assets . It is worth noting that due to the sale of Paton, Cross-border Communication has been involved in many equity transfer disputes, involving an amount of several hundred million yuan.

In one case, Cross-border Communication sued Xiyin, demanding it to pay RMB 12.1153 million for the equity transfer. Cross-border Communication stated that it had signed the "Equity Transfer and Capital Increase Agreement on Shenzhen Qianhai Paton Network Technology Co., Ltd." with several transferees including Guangzhou Xiyin International Import and Export Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xiyin"), stipulating that the defendant would acquire 4.6782% of the equity of Shenzhen Qianhai Paton Network Technology Co., Ltd. and pay RMB 94.5 million for the equity transfer.

Cross-border Communication stated that after the Equity Transfer and Capital Increase Agreement came into effect, the company fulfilled the relevant obligations such as changing the registration procedures for Paton's equity, and the company also received equity transfer payments from other transferees. However, as of now, the defendant still owes the company RMB 1,211.53 in equity transfer payments . After the company repeatedly urged for payment, the defendant evaded the payment for various reasons and refused to pay. The defendant's behavior seriously violated the provisions of the Equity Transfer and Capital Increase Agreement.

In addition, the equity transfer dispute between Cross-Border Link and Xiamen Yiwei Yihang Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) is also in the litigation period.

Judging from the multiple lawsuits that Cross-border Communication is currently facing, they are either related to Shenzhen Global or the equity dispute of Paton. Some industry insiders said that if Cross-border Communication can completely divest itself from Shenzhen Global and Paton, it may be able to turn losses into profits, and even have a bright future. However, it seems that whether Cross-border Communication can completely divest itself from the two is still a false proposition.

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