Vipshop, an online discount e-commerce site that is backed by Tencent and JD.com, has acquired Shan Shan Commercial Group, an outlet shopping mall operator, for RMB 290 million (USD 42 million), according to a document that the company filed Wednesday with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shan Shan Commercial Group, which is also known as Shan Shan Outlets, currently operates five outlet malls located in Taiyuan, Harbin, Zhengzhou, Nanchang, and its home turf Ningbo. It has another five outlets in the pipeline, said Vipshop in the filing.
“This represents another milestone in our efforts to explore online and offline integration in our core business,” said Eric Shen, adding that “through this highly strategic transaction, we will gain presence in the offline outlet business in China, which further enhances our ecosystem and fortifies our leading position in China’s discount retail segment.”
Last October, Vipshop opened a brick-and-mortar store in Beijing, retail-focused media outlet Linkshop reported. The e-commerce company later opened stores in Guangzhou, Changsha, Shenyang, Tianjin, and Hefei. Vipshop’s acquisition of Shan Shan Outlets gives it a physical presence in new locations in China.
Vipshop saw its profits surge earlier this year. The company booked RMB 21.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2019, yielding net income of RMB 872.3 million in the same period, up 65% year-on-year. Its active users in those three months increased 14% year-on-year to 29.7 million.
In December 2017, Tencent and JD.com poured in USD 862.3 million to invest in Vipshop.
