Huishoubao Secures Strategic Investment from Alibaba in Series C1 Round

源码资本·September 6, 2018·0·0

Accelerating the Development of the Idle Economy

Source Code Capital portfolio company Huishoubao has completed its Series C1 funding round, with Alibaba as the strategic investor. The two parties had previously established deep cooperation across multiple areas, including Idle Fish's credit-based recycling, Idle Fish Premium, Tmall and Taobao's trade-in programs, and Alibaba Philanthropy.

Following this round, Huishoubao will partner with Idle Fish to accelerate the expansion of the Idle Fish open platform. Huishoubao will also further develop its offline business, broaden user touchpoints, complete the integration of online and offline used-device recycling, and further establish standards spanning products to services.

Yiwen Hao, Vice President of Source Code Capital's Investment Team, said: "As Huishoubao's Series A investor, Source Code Capital is very excited to see the combination of Alibaba's powerful resources and Huishoubao's excellent execution capabilities bring transformative force to the used-device recycling market."

According to data disclosed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's current mobile phone inventory is close to 1.3 billion units, with a smartphone penetration rate of 75% and a smartphone inventory of 975 million units. At an average transaction value of 1,000 yuan, used phones represent a market worth hundreds of billions of yuan.

Industry analysts note that massive market potential and the rise of unicorn companies are driving major players to enter the space; in turn, their entry will accelerate the development of the idle economy, reshaping industry dynamics and competitive approaches.

With Alibaba's strategic investment now in place, the industry landscape has taken preliminary shape, and Huishoubao will gain tremendous momentum and crushing advantages. Going forward, the strong getting stronger will become even more pronounced.

Building on its mature phone aftermarket service capabilities and business integration expertise, Huishoubao's operations extend beyond mobile and digital product recycling to include Kele Youpin (sales), Naquyong (rentals), Huanjixia (offline retail enablement), and Shanxiuxia (a strategic investment by Huishoubao). This mature business matrix, combined with a "saturation attack strategy" — breaking through single points while supporting each other from multiple angles — will drive sustained high growth for Huishoubao in both domestic and international markets.

It is understood that after completing this funding round, offline will become Huishoubao's main battlefield. Huishoubao will join forces with Idle Fish and other Alibaba platforms to make heavy investments in offline channels and scenario development. Starting from user needs and behaviors, it will develop efficient, high-frequency, high-quality offline vehicles that fit lifestyle aesthetics, delivering new scenarios, new services, new products, and new standards to users.

Xiong Zhou, Senior Vice President of Huishoubao, stated that technological innovation and closed-loop services remain Huishoubao's continued focus. Huishoubao's self-developed automated phone recycling ATM is already at an internationally leading level; on this foundation, the company will further increase technology investment. Its currently launched sub-brand Kele Youpin, with 51 inspection metrics and 180-day warranty standards that match new devices, has already become consumers' preferred brand for purchasing used phones, and Kele Youpin will further increase market supply in the future. In terms of strategic partnerships with phone brands, Huishoubao will continue to provide "shipment engine"-level customized services for partners including OPPO, vivo, and Huawei in domestic and overseas markets.

He Fan, CEO of Huishoubao, said that Huishoubao has already evolved into a comprehensive service platform in the used-device recycling space, and going forward will promote the prosperity of the entire used-device recycling industry through standardization; enabling a leap forward in user experience, so that when purchasing or exchanging used items, consumers can enjoy quality and service equivalent to new products while also benefiting from the affordable prices of used goods. More major strategic announcements will be unveiled at Huishoubao's Shenzhen launch event on October 11.

For Alibaba, this investment underscores its determination to step up efforts in building the Idle Fish open platform. For Huishoubao, its strategic tie-up with Idle Fish and entry into the Alibaba ecosystem means securing a ticket to a user base with hundreds of millions of monthly active users; from strategic and momentum perspectives, it far surpasses other players in the industry. The retail platform formed by Idle Fish, Taobao, and Tmall will empower Huishoubao with enormous energy through infrastructure, traffic, and scenarios, advancing the reconstruction of the industry ecosystem.

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