In wake of Alibaba lawsuit, luxury fashion startup Xiu raises $30M funding

Xiu.com, an ecommerce retailer for high-end fashion products in China, today announced it has completed a US$30 million series C round of funding, according to 36kr. The investment was led by Jardine’s, followed by KPCB China and others.

Founded in 2008, Xiu specializes in high-end clothing, footwear, bags, accessories, and cosmetics from international brands. Headquartered in Shenzhen, it also has offices in fashion capitals like New York, San Francisco, London, Milan, and Hong Kong. The store has over 600 brands, and at least 200 of them are exclusive to Xiu in China.

Xiu’s investment comes just days after several high-profile luxury brands filed a lawsuit against China’s biggest ecommerce company, Alibaba. Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, and other brands owned by Paris-based Kering SA allege Alibaba knowingly encourages and profits from the sale of counterfeits on its online marketplaces, Tmall and Taobao. All of those brands are available on Xiu.

The company says it will use the funding to create a better shopping experience, improve its supply chain, and strengthen international ties.

Xiu founder Jiwen Hong says Xiu’s strength lies in the relationships it has with brands. By going directly to the brands and cutting out middlemen, it can offer better prices than competitors. 36kr says most items on Xiu sell for less than the retail cost in Hong Kong and the United States.

The startup has 10 million registered users with a repeat purchase rate of 85 percent. The average customer spends about RMB 1,500 (US$242) per purchase.

In 2012, US auction site Ebay launched a joint venture with Xiu to list products on a subdomain of Xiu’s site. That collaboration has since closed shop.

(Source: 36kr)