Guofeng Content E-Commerce Platform Wanwudezhi Closes Tens of Millions of Dollars in Series B Funding, Led by Source Code Capital

源码资本·April 20, 2020·0·4

It hit 2 billion yuan in revenue within a year of launch.

Wanwudezhi, a content-driven e-commerce platform for Chinese heritage goods, announced the completion of its Series B funding round worth tens of millions of dollars, led by Source Code Capital. One year after its app launch, the platform has surpassed 2 billion RMB in sales, attracted over 15 million registered users, and onboarded more than 200,000 premium art and collectibles merchants. Wanwudezhi's transformation of the traditional art and collectibles industry has won recognition from numerous investors. Since December 2018, the company has completed four funding rounds, with participation from Source Code Capital, K2VC, ZhenFund, and GGV Capital, among other prominent investment firms.

According to QuestMobile, a leading Chinese mobile internet big data firm, Wanwudezhi's monthly active users (MAU) exceed 3 million, ranking first in the entire art and collectibles e-commerce sector and second in overall e-commerce growth rate. This Chinese heritage content commerce platform, live for just 13 months, is charging ahead as an unstoppable dark horse to become a top player in its category.

Jinshang Tang, Founder & CEO of Wanwudezhi, said: "Wanwudezhi's mission is to be a steward of Eastern culture. We are committed to doing what's right for the industry's long-term development. We want to bring art and collectibles into the mainstream and make Chinese heritage a cultural trend. We want 'Chinese heritage goods' to equal 'Wanwudezhi.' We hope to gather 100 million enthusiasts of Chinese heritage culture and get more young people excited about it."

Jinshang Tang, Founder & CEO, Wanwudezhi

Sun Tong, a board member at Wanwudezhi representing Source Code Capital, said: "The broader Chinese heritage market that Wanwudezhi operates in has ample category tailwinds, and its user base carries meaningful defensive qualities. The company achieved early user acquisition at low cost and built a quality supply matrix that can continuously unlock channel and brand value over the long term. We also deeply respect the CEO's agility, critical thinking, and execution capability — the team is young, well-rounded, and battle-ready. We have high expectations and strong confidence that Wanwudezhi will become a first-tier player in this space. We hope the team stays grounded in its original mission and keeps refining itself while riding this rapid growth momentum. We are very bullish on Wanwudezhi's model competitiveness in this sector and the quality supply-demand relationships it has built. We believe the industry will eventually produce stronger brand influence, giving users a clear destination in mind when they think of jewelry, art, collectibles, and Chinese heritage goods."

For Jinshang Tang, his decision to enter the art and collectibles industry and launch Wanwudezhi stemmed from a pure passion for traditional Chinese culture. Tang practiced martial arts and painted from an early age, developing a deep love for Chinese history and traditional culture. After graduating from university, he worked at JD.com and Alibaba, where he was struck by how internet technology could transform traditional industries. Driven by this interest and passion, he threw himself into the e-commerce modernization of art and collectibles. His dual DNA — both internet and art world — gave him deep understanding of the culture industry and the ability to apply internet thinking to reshape it.

"Growing the industry" is what Tang says most often. Art and collectibles consumption in China has accumulated a fixed base of users and circles — people who love traditional Chinese culture and have developed some expertise in identifying and purchasing art and collectibles goods. But these "existing users" represent only a small fraction of the potential consumer pool. Tang's vision is focused on the "incremental users" outside these circles.

Livestreaming on the platform

"If I only served existing users, and they represent just 1% of potential consumers, then my target is the remaining 99%. Only by creating growth for the industry can we make it bigger." Jinshang Tang clearly takes a higher-level view in analyzing the art and collectibles industry's development.

Whether for personal enjoyment or investment, art and collectibles consumption is fundamentally a form of spiritual consumption. "The United States has hip-hop culture and NBA culture, Europe has luxury culture, and China actually has its own culture too. For example, men in northern China like to handle prayer beads and walnuts, men in southern China like tea, and Chinese women generally love jadeite bangles," Tang said.

As material needs are increasingly met, more consumers are turning attention to their spiritual needs. Art and collectibles, as carriers of thousands of years of traditional culture, have become a way for more consumers — especially younger generations — to "invest emotion in objects." But for users who have never engaged with art and collectibles circles or purchased such goods, the industry's chronic problems of "impossible to verify authenticity" and "paying tuition for mistakes" are the biggest deterrents.

To address this, Wanwudezhi launched Wanwu Authentication — China's first full-process authenticity guarantee service for art and collectibles transactions — investing heavily to build proprietary warehousing and authentication systems, partnering with over 300 senior authenticators holding GAC, CGC, FGA, NGTC, and other credentials. Through proprietary warehouse transit, unboxing inspection, and product authentication, the platform pioneered a new purchase flow of "authenticate first, ship after."

The new "authenticate first, ship after" purchase flow

Tang said: "If a new user's very first order turns out to be fake, they may never buy art and collectibles again. What we need to do is let users purchase without worry, solving the authenticity problem. Let users start with cost-effective items to test the waters, develop interest, gain experience, and gradually grow into seasoned collectors."

With the rise of Chinese heritage culture and the guochao trend in recent years, Chinese cultural confidence has grown stronger, and consumer attention and affection for traditional Chinese culture has reached new heights. For Wanwudezhi, which is working hard to "break out of its circle," this may truly be the best of times.