Club Factory scores $100 Mn series D round led by Qiming VP

E-commerce platform Club Factory has raked in $100 million in a Series D funding round led by Qiming Venture Partners. The round also witnessed the participation from Bertelsmann, IDG Capital, and other Fortune 500 companies from the US and Asia.

The Series D round has come for the Singapore-based company after 18 months of its previous $100 million round led by the German multinational corporation Bertelsmann.

With the fresh proceeds, Club Factory is aiming to expand its range of products and enter into new categories. It is also looking to strengthen technology stack and sign up more sellers in India, reported Livemint.

The financing round for the company has come at a time when it's facing custom crackdowns in India. Amidst heightened regulatory heat, Club Factory has been hit by consumers' complaints, high return rate and poor support service.

The crackdown also triggered Club Factory to keep changing airports for its consignments coming from China.

Last month, Entrackr reported that the platform has a nearly 50% return rate, which is way above the industry average. This means that every second-order that Club Factory ships to India are returned to the seller.

Curiously, Club Factory claims to be the third-largest e-commerce company based on app downloads. Although, app downloads and traffic can't be parameters for a successful e-commerce business.

According to Club Factory's founder and CEO Vincent Lou, the platform charging zero commission fee from sellers is helping the e-commerce industry grow. He also claims to empower local sellers and to benefit consumers by offering the best possible price.

While the $100 million round certainly bolsters Club Factory's operations in India and elsewhere, it requires to have responsive customer support, efficient logistics and contain return rates. Also, instead of vanity metrics like app downloads, it should focus on business fundamentals.