Another e-commerce platform filed for bankruptcy reorganization? What is the way out for Secoo, which has frozen 153 million shares?

Although 2021 has passed, it will be a very difficult year for the e-commerce industry.

According to relevant statistics, in 2021, no less than 100 companies have been on the "death list" due to industry competition and "burning money", including enterprises of different sizes in many fields such as comprehensive e-commerce , maternal and infant, fresh food, community e-commerce, etc.

It seems that the arrival of 2022 has not changed such a situation. Recently, Secoo, the "first stock of China's luxury e-commerce" has been rumored to have filed for bankruptcy and reorganization , which has once again become a hot topic in the e-commerce industry.

Freeze 153 million shares denied being filed for bankruptcy

On January 5, Secoo, the "first stock of luxury e-commerce" was heated discussion because of a news filed for bankruptcy reorganization.

According to the Tianyan Check App, on January 5, Beijing Siku Trading Co., Ltd. added a new bankruptcy review case. The applicant was Chai Chenxu, and the Court of Justice was the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. At the same time, at the close of January 5, Secouver's stock price closed at US$0.406, with a total market value of only US$28.678 million, and the market value of US$770 million at its peak was more than 96%.

It is worth mentioning that the company has 7 equity transactions that have been frozen, with the cumulative amount involved reaching 153 million yuan. The companies whose equity is executed include Shanghai Seku E-Commerce Co., Ltd., Beijing Kuyin Financial Holding Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Shezhe Culture Communication Co., Ltd., etc.

However, in response to the rumor that "Seku Group was filed for bankruptcy", Seku immediately gave a positive response, saying that " after verification, the above situation does not exist, the company will reserve the right to hold people accountable ." And as of now, Seku.com can still open and shop normally.

Despite this, the difficult difficulties of Secouver are obvious to all, and such rumors are not groundless.

Users complain about defaulting on payments, and the storm continues

In fact, there are long-standing clues in Secoo’s filing for bankruptcy.

In the past two years, Secoo has been in troubles such as arrears of supplier payments and employee wages, broken capital chain, and concentrated user complaints, and it is difficult to extricate itself.

According to risk information, the Secoo has been associated with 150 legal lawsuits and 62 filing information, and the causes are mostly online shopping contract disputes. In the Black Cat complaint, many consumers also reported that they would not ship or refund the orders in the Secoo, and the consignment products could not be obtained. Although some of the products were marked as shipped within 30 days, consumers did not receive the goods after 4 months. In addition, the company was also punished for illegal advertising, website "controlling comments", and unauthorized deletion of comments.

Not only that, Secoo also revealed that it was exposed to defaulting on payments from suppliers and faced the dilemma of breaking the capital chain.

Several suppliers from Secouver revealed that as early as early as 2021, they failed to receive payments from Secouver on time, with the payment ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions, and there were hundreds of suppliers involved. Some of them collect money online, some choose offline negotiations, and some even try to call the police. In the end, there are very few suppliers who actually get the solution.

Various events show that Secoo, known as the "first stock of luxury e-commerce", is now suffering from internal and external troubles and constant turmoil.

Many indicators are falling and the dilemma of Secoo is difficult to solve

Secou was established in 2008 and mainly sells luxury goods. It has four core sectors: Secou Business, Secou Finance, Secou Intelligence and Secou Community. Seco.com focuses on luxury goods, and its products cover bags, watches, clothing, jewelry, etc.

September 22, 2017 was a very meaningful day for Secoo. The luxury e-commerce Secoo successfully rang the bell on the Nasdaq in the United States, successfully landed on the US stock market, and became the "first stock of luxury e-commerce", which was full of enthusiasm.

However, the good times did not last long. As the first Chinese e-commerce technology stock to be listed in the United States after Alibaba, the stock price broke the issue price on the first day of listing, with an opening price of US$13 below the issue price and a closing drop of 23%. This was just the beginning of Secoo's dilemma.

In the next four years, Secoo faced not only a plunge in its stock price. According to the financial reports for the first three quarters of 2020 released by Secoo, its revenue was 1.01 billion yuan, 1.31 billion yuan and 1.37 billion yuan respectively, and compared with 1.18 billion yuan, 1.71 billion yuan and 1.94 billion yuan in the same period in 2019, both of which showed a decline. After the third quarter of 2020, Secoo never released any financial reports, so it also received a warning letter from Nasdaq.

On the one hand, the supplier asks for money, on the other hand, the user cannot receive the goods after placing an order, and on the other hand, the revenue decline after the listing, the Secouver is like a trapped beast, and it is difficult to break free from the arrangement of fate.

Is there any way out for Secou?

Is there any way out for Secou, ​​which is struggling with life and death? In fact, Secoo itself is also constantly seeking breakthroughs.

In order to save himself, Secoo tried to live streaming and sell goods. At the end of 2020, Secoo's first luxury live streaming base built in Beijing officially opened, and live streaming was carried out in various forms such as "playing" + independent live broadcast rooms. However, Secoo is taking a high-end route, and it is particularly particular about pricing, channels, and services. The way of live streaming to sell goods is not in line with the positioning. Even genuine products will instantly lower the luxury goods.

What's more, more and more luxury brands choose to join mainstream e-commerce brands such as Tmall and JD.com. After the traffic has been divided, it is even more difficult for Secoo to break through the siege.

Although Secoo denied the rumors of bankruptcy and reorganization, it still faces multiple problems such as improving the supply chain system, providing high-quality services, and finding mature and reliable operating models, but it is not much time left for it.

Perhaps, Secoo is also giving a warning to all companies: companies need to find their core advantages in fierce competition, take advantage of the momentum and form their own armor, so that they can develop more lastingly.