The great consolidation is coming, but it hasn’t arrived yet. Instead, we’re being treated to an adaptation of Waiting for Godot, with absurd valuations and IPO jokes, while everyone waits around for something, anything that will bail them out.
iResearch has published their July monthly research results for group buy sites in China, including rankings of top 10 sites in 3 main categories: 1) average daily uniques, 2) monthly visits, and 3) conversion rates. Overall, the number of group-buying users grew to 27 million users, a 1.4% increase from the previous month.
Taobao Ju is #1 in terms of daily uniques and monthly visits, further proof of Taobao’s pole position in e-commerce.
Last week, Qieke, a check-in service invested in by Shanda, blanketed China’s top-tier cities with massive outdoor ads at shopping streets, subway stations, bus stops and airports.
The last time there was such ‘hype’ for an LBS check-in service was the Vodone-backed Linxun. It didn’t go so well. Linxun, launched in May 2010, cut its staff by 2/3 at the end of the year and faded out of view together with a flock of other Foursquare clones.
iPeen (愛評網) is a Taiwanese startup that collates reviews of restaurants, cafes and bars and offers coupons for members. Taiwan has an intense foodie culture: even the hottest restaurants can quickly tumble against an onslaught of new innovators. And similar to Yelp or Dianping, iPeen.com.tw is a platform to help restaurateurs and foodies connect.
In 2010, New York has welcomed 39 Chinese firms to its NYSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges, surpassing the previous record of 37 in 2007. 2011 could well obliterate all previous records, again. This post reviews the multitude of recent (5) and upcoming (9) Chinese internet IPOs.
