It received 140 million in financing within one year of its establishment. This channel is too crazy!

Independent stations have reached their highlight moment.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the industry and the public have paid unprecedented attention to independent websites. The enthusiasm of capital in pursuing them can even be described as "crazy". Previously, an unnamed independent website project received $30 million in investment, and now it has been revealed that a D2C e-commerce brand that has just been established for a year has received another $22 million (about 140 million yuan) in financing.

Cider received $22 million in financing just one year after its establishment

Recently, it was reported that Cider, a D2C e-commerce platform going global , has completed a $22 million Series A financing . The brand was founded by Wang Chen, the former COO of the fashion rental company Yiersan. The investment lineup is luxurious - DST Global and Silicon Valley investment legend A16Z jointly led the investment, followed by IDG Capital and Dexun Investment.

Not only the investment lineup is eye-catching, but also the time of its establishment is particularly noteworthy. Unlike independent websites such as Xike and SHEIN, which have been established for many years, Cider is very "young". Tianyancha shows that its parent company is Beijing Lizhi and Mango Technology Co., Ltd., which was established on May 27, 2020. In other words, Cider received hundreds of millions of financing just one year after its establishment.

It is said that "a woman's wardrobe is always missing a piece of clothing." Women can't help but want to buy beautiful clothes. Cider also targets the women's clothing market.

Like other independent websites, the overall design style of Cider's website is very consistent with the aesthetics of Europeans and Americans, simple and elegant without being fancy. Its overall interface is white in color, and the columns and sections are clearly divided. For example , under the "Shop" section, it is divided into four categories according to style: categories, tops, bottoms, and outerwear. Each category is further subdivided, such as the bottoms category is divided into skirts, shorts, and pants.

Interestingly, Cider also paired some of its products with some emotionally provocative copywriting that can trigger a desire to buy. For example, next to a halter dress, it reads: Who doesn't love a good cocktail? Our Mojito Lime PU halter top is perfect for a summer night out! Made of faux leather, lime green and crocodile texture - this halter top makes Y2K dreams come true. Live the 21st century dream while you still can.

It is understood that since mid-2020, Cider has accumulated nearly 2 million fans on global social media and users from more than 100 countries. Currently, it has branches in London, England, Guangzhou, China, Brisbane, Australia, Medellin, Colombia, and New York, USA, and production is located in Guangzhou.

SHEIN's new generation is emerging

In an investment announcement about Cider on the A16Z official website, it was written: "Cider gave me everything I hoped to have decades ago, a large number of fashionable clothes, favorable prices, and a commitment to the environment."

The so-called environmental commitment actually refers to the pre-order model (for some styles) launched by Cider to reduce waste, that is, production is carried out according to consumers' reservations. This is not only environmentally friendly, but also reduces inventory backlogs, thus achieving zero inventory. Moreover, in terms of transportation, Cider said that if you place an order for a pre-ordered product and an inventory product at the same time, in order to reduce carbon emissions, it will wait until all packages are delivered and transport them together.

From the above content, whether it is product category or supply chain model, Cider easily reminds us of SHEIN, the leader in the independent station track. Therefore, Cider is also called the follower of SHEIN by some media. This is indeed the case. According to the A16Z official website, Cider is following in the footsteps of SHEIN and establishing a factory direct sales market to welcome the future of real-time retail.

Independent websites are a big piece of cake. Now, in addition to Cider, other SHEIN's successors are also slowly emerging. For example, the independent website project mentioned at the beginning of the article, which has not yet been named but is rumored to have received an angel round investment of about US$30 million, has a clear direction of becoming a fast fashion export e-commerce brand similar to SHEIN.

Can you build a brand by testing hot products? Seller with 10 years of experience: You’re just dreaming

When asked about the reasons for setting up an independent website, many sellers will say: "I want to build a brand." Speaking of brands, SHEIN is well-deserved.

But Rome was not built in a day, and neither is a brand. Marketing and promotion are indispensable.

The reason why SHEIN has become a benchmark for domestic independent brands going overseas is that its excellent social media marketing strategy must be a major "contributor" that cannot be ignored. Like SHEIN, Cider has also deployed social platforms preferred by overseas young people in terms of marketing, such as Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, etc.

Although the successful experience of big sellers is already there, when it comes to independent website traffic and celebrity marketing, many sellers still have many questions: What is a healthy traffic model for independent websites? How long can the model of testing hot products last? How can you hire an influencer with more than 10 million fans to help advertise your products without spending money?

The seller who gave a keynote speech at the China Cross-border E-commerce Marketing Conference not long ago will tell you the answer.

In his speech, Alita Technology CEO Chen Quncheng cited the example of DTC brand Fashion Nova's use of influencer marketing, and gained insight into a phenomenon - the brand's promotional strategy of using celebrities such as Cardi B, Kylie Jenner and more than 4,000 small influencers to post photos of themselves wearing tight clothing on Instagram quickly improved word-of-mouth and occupied the minds of users, becoming a new sexy and tight fashion trend.

In the process of operating the brand, this seller makes good use of internet celebrities and stars to help promote his products. Some of the sellers are even approached by internet celebrities to promote their products.  

An ordinary water gun costs $3.5 and is sold for $35. The daily sales can reach up to 1,000 orders. Without spending a penny, rapper stars with 10.3 million fans can post videos. The reason why internet celebrities and stars can promote products for free is also due to the charm of the brand and the product itself.

When many sellers first set out to build their own independent websites, they invested heavily in hard advertising to test whether their products would become hits. However, many sellers admit that although the model of testing whether their products would become hits is feasible, the bonus period will not last long. In a highly competitive environment, there are not many opportunities left for sellers.

At the conference, Wu Jiayang, an SEO independent site expert with 10 years of experience in traffic management, admitted that no independent site's growth period is supported by advertising. If 70% of an independent site's sales are supported by advertising, it is impossible to build a large-scale independent site.

He also said that the model of testing hot-selling products is difficult to sustain. It is just a dream to expect an independent website to develop greatly and be among the top in the industry. For example, so far, an independent website company that sells hot-selling products worth 1 billion yuan a year cannot build a brand.  

Although there are many ways to get traffic for independent websites, such as SEM, Facebook ads, Google ads, affiliate marketing, SEO, etc., which is the free and lasting traffic channel? Which traffic diversion method can achieve a conversion rate of 5%? How long is the window period for testing the hit product?

The answers are all in the speech video of the conference that day. If you want to download the full video, please scan the QR code below or click the link https://www.ennews.com/Phone/SpeApply/shoot_sign?sou=yeg_two

Independent website

Cider

SHEIN