Chinese online retailer targets growth boom in baby products in post one-child policy era

Allen Zhang, founder and chief executive of Beibei.com, China’s largest online shop specialising in mother and baby products, expects businesses to more than double in 2017, buoyed by the company’s expanded supply chain and enriched product offerings.

Hangzhou-based Beibei plans to achieve gross merchandise volume (GMV) sales of 10 billion yuan in 2017, up from this year’s 4 billion yuan after it became profitable in October.

Gross merchandise volume (GMV) is a standard often used by e-commerce companies to measure sales growth. The metric tallies the value of transactions processed on the online platforms, which counts in the orders cancelled by buyers later.

“We’ll see difficulties in taking each step ahead from now on,” Zhang said. “We want to make our supply chain stronger, give customers better experience and fine-tune product offerings to support fast business growth.”

Beibei, established in 2014, is a “unicorn” - unlisted technology firms valued at more than US$1 billion that receives investment from a clutch of renowned venture capital funds including IDG and Capital Today.

Zhang, 30, is among the mainland’s rising business stars. He has a Master’s of Engineering Degree and had a brief work stint with e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group between 2009 and 2011, owner of the South China Morning Post.