Another storm! Amazon 3C sellers were forced to pay nearly 60 million yuan

Black Shark Technology, the once popular Amazon 3C brand, is in trouble again after experiencing layoffs and employees demanding wages, and has become the subject of execution again!

Black Shark Technology has become the debtor again, with the amount reaching 56.53 million yuan!

Recently, the Qichacha APP showed that Black Shark Technology had added a new debtor information with an amount as high as 56.53 million yuan.

The case related to this execution information is a financial loan contract dispute between the Nanchang Branch of China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited and a company, and the executing court is the Honggutan District People's Court of Nanchang City.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that Black Shark Technology has become the subject of execution.

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

On February 20, 2023, Nanchang Black Shark Technology Co., Ltd. added another information of the person subject to execution. The execution target was 82,339 yuan, and the executing court was the People's Court of Nanchang Economic and Technological Development Zone.

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.

When Black Shark Technology was first established, its core business was gaming phones.

In April 2018, Black Shark Technology received angel round investment from Xiaomi Group and Jinkai Group. Lei Jun held a 36.13% stake in the company. Black Shark Technology also gained access to Xiaomi’s supply chain and channel resources.

With the strong support of Xiaomi's resources, Black Shark Technology's gaming phone received strong market feedback as soon as it was released, with sales and revenue far exceeding expectations, making it a leader in the gaming phone market.

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.

But how could the once famous Black Shark Technology fall to the point of being forced to execute?

As more and more mobile phone manufacturers join the gaming phone market, market competition has become increasingly fierce, and 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, planning to shift its business focus from gaming phones to VR devices to serve the Metaverse content.

At the beginning of 2022, Black Shark Technology recruited a large number of talents in the VR field. At that time, 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 completion of this acquisition, 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 research and development 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.

Black Shark Technology laid off 80% of its employees , and its CEO was asked to pay his salary online...

In August 2022, Black Shark Technology started to lay off employees, and there were 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%.

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.

Since January 2023, Black Shark Technology employees have been defending their rights on a large scale, hanging banners in the office demanding compensation.

Because Black Shark Technology originally promised to pay severance pay in six installments from January to June, but 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, which was far from the previous agreement between the two parties.

From January to February 2023, Black Shark Technology employees have been leaving comments on Black Shark CEO's Weibo, demanding that he pay compensation according to the agreement.

Now, the agreed six-month deadline has long passed , and there are still employees asking for their wages online in the comment section of Black Shark CEO’s Weibo!

“When will you pay me back?”

"The severance pay for laid-off employees has not been paid. Employees have been lining up to defend their rights for half a year, but there has been no result. They only pick on the weak."

“When will the compensation be paid?”

"We need a public apology, not counter-sued on trumped-up grounds"

According to former employees of Black Shark Technology, Black Shark not only failed to pay severance pay on time, but also sued some laid-off employees in April this year.

The reason for the lawsuit is that the plaintiff and the defendant terminated the labor contract by mutual agreement and signed a resignation agreement. Because the defendant did not complete the work handover when he resigned, the plaintiff has the right to directly deduct the defendant's resignation compensation in accordance with Article 2 of the resignation agreement.

Black Shark Technology's lawsuit request is to ask the court to rule that the company does not need to pay severance pay to the defendant employees.

These former employees of Black Shark Technology who were sued said that Black Shark Technology's move was really unacceptable. Instead of giving compensation, they accused the company of not leaving the company for handing over the work, which was obviously just a delaying move.

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.

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

In general, the prospects of Black Shark Technology are still controversial. After experiencing this catastrophe, it is still unknown whether it can recover.

Black Shark Technology

Enforcement