India-based e-commerce vendor ShopClues on Thursday announced its merger with Singapore-based platform Qoo10 in a stock deal that will grant access to more than 700,000 small and micro-merchants to global markets via Qoo10’s presence in Southeast Asia, the Gurgaon-based company said in a statement.
Qoo10 services small and medium enterprises through its localised online marketplaces in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong and the partnership is set to give its merchants access to a vast Indian market as Qoo10 further plans to expand into other Asian countries.
“This partnership presents new strategic opportunities for both companies, as it opens up cross border opportunities for consumers and sellers across Asia. The merger has been approved by the board of directors and major shareholders of both the companies,” ShopClues said.
Earlier this year, ShopClues had approached Snapdeal for a buyout but the talks failed because of the company’s heavy accumulated liabilities. Sources earlier said that ShopClues had not been paying vendors and had instead been holding the cash to fund daily operations.
ShopClues that last raised about INR 110 crore in funding in 2018 from existing investors, posted losses of over INR 200 crore in the year 2017-18. In FY17, losses stood higher at INR 347.15 crore. Revenue from operations came in at a mere INR 271.29 crore in FY18, the data showed.
Founded in July 2011, the firm has managed to raise USD 255.9 million in funding, according to public financial data. The company let go of some employees working in consumer-centric departments earlier this year.
