"Lone" litters: Surrounded by "rural" city, from group buying to the mall

January 10, the local life service O2O Circle was a heavy news explosion opened the nest-litters mall formally to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted a prospectus document, decided to go to the U.S. IPO, the stock code is "Wowo." This time is only announced a 40 million U.S. dollar placeholder, did not disclose the specific amount of financing.

Litters is the first batch of domestic group to set up a site, after hundreds of thousands of regiments, after the war still able to live, can not but say is a miracle. Today, group buying field still survive platform is just a comment, the United States Regiment, Glutinous rice, handle and so on only a few, and these few without exception, all through being injected or bought by the way, find a strong "backer."

In these several group buying website, litters is a kind of heterogeneous. Despite all the rumors of "being acquired" and "being shut down," litters's most recent fundraising was a 50 million-dollar recapitalisation of the original shareholder team, led by Xu Maodong.

Prior to the industry has been concerned about the public comments and the United States to the listing of the group for the drama, but do not want to be litters robbed the head of the lottery, litters Mall to submit a prospectus, also opened a 2015-year O2O company listed drama Curtain.

Two times of Nirvana.

There is no road, there are many people walk, the road is gone bad. Group buying can be said that China's internet history, one of the most fierce competition, but also the internet characteristics of the typical burning Money game representative.

Facing the Red Sea, when all the industry in the litters "worry", Xu Maodong earlier in the media interview, but said, litters to more patience, more innovation, slowly. This is because litters has undergone two major transformations.

The first time is 2010-2011, litters in group buying battlefield in time to turn three or four line city, Xu Maodong is very clever, in the group buying website blood spell one or two lines, the original group of the first batch of the pioneers almost all became "martyrs", he led his team, stared at the unpopular but unlimited potential of the three or four-line city, These internet consumption, although not popular "rural", but has almost 0 of the good environment of competition. The road surrounding the city in the countryside has saved litters's fate.

The revolution has not yet succeeded, the competition will not end. Avoid the blood to fight the main battlefield of the Litters Regiment, 24 coupons, as well as a little later handle, the United States Regiment, now the fate of different. More importantly, the brutal competition described in the handle Chao is still alarming, and this area may be the final shuffle.

It is clear that such a wave will inevitably ripple through litters, but Xu Maodong does not seem to think so, because he and his team have been "Nirvana" again.

2012, litters group resolutely draw away from group buying war, began to transform the mall mode, from that time of "litters Regiment" renamed as "Litters Mall", to help the traditional life service merchants to the online store extended to the network, in the Internet to open brand stores, the shop will buy, card coupons, specialty dishes, such as display in the store for direct sales, promotions.

Litters Mall hopes to become a local life service electric business platform, the main business for local life service businesses in the litters platform to open online shops, to help merchants Mobile E-commerce, to provide businesses with independent sales, Ling campaign pin, user management of one-stop platform.

According to Litters's prospectus disclosed that the third quarter of 2014, litters has registered users of 34.1 million people, 150 city stations, the number of businesses reached 100,000, providing 430,000 types of services, Nirvana halo effect is significant.

and group buying is now just a litters channel, to provide businesses with promotional and advertising services. The public reviews CEO Zhang will be compared to a "sharp knife", can quickly reach the user, but he also stressed that businesses are not suitable for long-term group buying, "because the catering industry net profit of 10%, which is equivalent to 90 percent of the original price, if a merchant for a long period of 80 percent, then the equivalent of a penny can not earn." ”

In the Chinese Internet before doing the user model after the typical characteristics of the money dragged down the vast majority of the group buying site. If the litters stubborn in the group buying War and C-end users of the flow of investment, lack of funds and the giant's intervention will let its "Red Sea boundless hardship as a boat."

Next City

It is clear that simple group buying seems to have no future, and become the O2O field of the entrance is the industry's common pursuit.

But how in this pursuit of the road constantly quantitative changes and to promote qualitative change, each player is trying different methods, so in the past 2014, we can see a group buy mode differentiation drama staged.

The U.S. group to buy for the tangent point of the derivation of the film, hotels, takeout and other vertical areas; comments based on mass user comments data to create a total ecological, large promotion and group buying business to maintain the advantages, while hotels, movies and reservations, takeout and other new business also full bloom; Glutinous rice backed by Baidu map and large data support group buying, Furthermore, the addition of the direct number adds more imagination space.

Litters in group buying mode "differentiation" is particularly resolute, buy now just litters a channel, currently litters three core products: Litters Mall, Mobile client, litters E-commerce operating system. Litters choose from the way of technology and service, perhaps a good way.

Xu Maodong began to preach litters mall, it is clear that litters has begun to prepare in this field when exerting force.

In July this year litters further upgraded its mall platform, not only to get through the micro-letter, Alipay, service window and Baidu direct number, such as multiple platforms, but also launched a new online shop to provide businesses with its independent brand of the app, to achieve the mobile era of business upgrades.

At present, Qiao Jiangnan, Zordeni and other merchants have upgraded the litters mall in the mobile service, for the degree of electronic commerce is not high merchants, litters provide comprehensive training and expert guidance.

According to the song Nets understand, in Shangrao, Jiangxi, a 95 flower shop owner in litters staff Xiao Hou's advice and guidance, the use of the litters shop through the software, launched the "Encounter Flower" mobile shop, in the single day of a successful booking of flowers more than 400 bundles, including network sales accounted for the total business volume of 48%.

According to its prospectus, last year, with the promotion of a free shop model, a sharp cut in commission, and support consumers to shop to pay, let the merchant direct sales, resulting in a fall in the transaction income. But at the same time, litters launched a service business platform to build value-added services are welcomed by merchants, 2014 years ago 9 months of platform user income (value-added services to the merchant) growth is obvious.

The song net before also understood, litters this upgrade, is hopes through the software ecology, through "the positive and negative O2O". Specifically, in order to accelerate the merchant electric business, litters development of the online direct marketing system, to help businesses on the mobile phone can manage their own online shop, the system through the business of all online marketing channels for the offline store drainage, this is forward to O2O.

And the independent brand app that litters offers to businesses, on the reverse O2O, it helps businesses to the offline store's natural passenger flow through two-dimensional code into the line of passenger flow, the use of mobile clients will be the frequency of high users into members, through promotional activities, new products listed, user care and other information constantly activating users, sticky users, Stimulate repeated purchases.

The most different with other players is that on the platform of Litters mall, businessmen have full autonomy after the establishment of online shops, can realize their own pricing, independent sales, dynamic promotions, long-term online marketing, such as a variety of diversified online sales needs.

At the same time, litters's independent role in the O2O so that it can have enough openness, in every mobile mainstream platform is not vacant, shop Pass also has the third party shop management function. Business through the background can be directly synchronized management of micro-letter shop, Alipay service window, Baidu Direct number, such as online shop, a single edit can be in each major platform synchronization.

This model, it is clear, not only to avoid the continued brutal group buying competition, but also to form group purchase, platform use fees, value-added services fee of the multiple income structure.

It is understood that litters and the merchant signed the contract for 2 years, rather than as a project to send the same item to push personnel to continue to follow up, which ensures the platform to use the income of the relatively stable, even if the number of cooperative businesses is growing, will not bring the rapid increase in demand for personnel.

It seems to be a good pattern to have a multiple income and a stable income source.

Xu Maodong the O2O field of thinking is not in-depth, litters two times Nirvana is not a success, but in the United States Group, comments group, such as group buying platform actively to the ecological, mobile Internet development and into the peak of today, "lone" litters to achieve the life Service electric business big platform dream, there are many obstacles to clear.