Source Code Capital Congratulates Portfolio Company MOGU (NYSE:MOGU) on NYSE IPO

源码资本·December 7, 2018·0·9

An IPO is the beginning of a brand-new journey.

On December 6, Eastern Time, MOGU (NYSE: MOGU), a leading fashion and lifestyle destination and portfolio company of Source Code Capital, officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange — marking the debut of the first Chinese tech-fashion stock. Founded in 2011, MOGU completed a strategic merger with Meilishuo in January 2016. Its product and service portfolio includes MOGU, Meilishuo, and uni.

Qi Chen, MOGU's founder, chairman, and CEO, along with other senior executives, investor representatives, fashion influencer and livestreamer "Xiao Tianxin," and employee representative Yu Wen, attended the bell-ringing ceremony to mark this milestone.

Public disclosures show that as of September 30, 2018, MOGU's monthly mobile active users reached 62.6 million, primarily young women aged 15 to 30.

A recent QuestMobile report, Insights into Online Shopping Young Women, also found that MOGU ranked first among the top ten e-commerce platforms in TGI (Target Group Index) penetration among "online shopping young women" — defined as female mobile internet users under 24 with medium-to-high online spending propensity — with a TGI of 601.6.

MOGU's distinctive content ecosystem precisely meets young women's multifaceted needs for social interaction, shopping, and market discovery. Its unique online fashion content and social model not only help them sense fashion trends and discover what they want, but also enable them to purchase fashion items conveniently.

Qi Chen, founder, chairman, and CEO of MOGU

Source Code Capital annual meeting, 2017

Beyond fashion content and e-commerce, MOGU is also a technology-driven company. As of September 30, 2018, it had built a technical team of approximately 500 engineers dedicated to technology development and algorithm design. MOGU applies artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to the fashion domain, helping users better understand and analyze fashion trends to deliver more professional fashion services.

On the MOGU platform, fashion content is presented through livestreaming, short video, and graphic articles, among other formats. Livestreaming has become a key vehicle for fashion content and a highly efficient conversion channel for fashion merchandise.

According to public data, in September 2018 alone, MOGU produced an average of 3,000 hours of live content daily — equivalent to 125 TV channels broadcasting 24/7 — while users spent over 35 minutes per day watching livestreams on the platform. In fiscal year 2018, 84.3% of users who made purchases while watching livestreams bought again within the following 30 days.

One of MOGU's most important distinctions from other internet platforms is its robust "three-sided network."

On the MOGU platform, fashion influencers, merchants, and users are tightly interconnected, with each party benefiting from the others.

Users follow influencers for fashion content and inspiration, then purchase from merchants; influencers aggregate fan bases and monetize by driving exposure for merchants; merchants, in turn, strengthen their brands and command premium pricing through this distribution.

As of September 30, 2018, over 48,000 fashion influencers had joined the MOGU platform, including more than 18,000 active livestreamers. "Xiao Tianxin," who was invited to the listing ceremony, is one of these livestreamers.

With keen fashion instincts and strong user appeal, these influencers and livestreamers leverage their distinctive understanding of aesthetics, craftsmanship, and trends to become a powerful force in building brand awareness and driving sales.

MOGU's business and financial metrics show clear upward momentum. Public disclosures indicate that in fiscal year 2018 (April 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018), MOGU recorded GMV of RMB 14.7 billion, up 24.6% year over year; in the first half of fiscal year 2019 (April 1, 2018 – September 30, 2018), GMV reached RMB 7.9 billion, up 25.4% year over year. Revenue for fiscal year 2018 was RMB 973 million, and RMB 490 million for the first half of fiscal year 2019.

Qi Chen, founder, chairman, and CEO of MOGU

In his remarks at the ceremony, Qi Chen stated that the IPO marks the beginning of a new journey for MOGU, and that the company will seize this opportunity to write a new chapter of rapid growth.

Reflecting on MOGU's entrepreneurial path, Chen said the company is committed to helping Chinese women become more beautiful and confident, and hopes to enable more hardworking young women to make fashion their full-time career and earn broad societal respect.