C Ventures invests in Chinese streetwear group Yoho!

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 12, 2018

The Chinese streetwear empire Yoho! Group recently announced that it has raised tens of millions of US dollars in its E+ round financing and will use the funds to develop its omni-channel strategy.

Yoho! Group has received a round of investment led by C Ventures with Pioneer Capital as the exclusive financial advisor. Previous investors in the group include China Media Capital, Fortune Capital, Shanghai Zhichen Asset Management Co. Ltd, Telescope Investment, CDH Investments, Vertex Ventures China, and SAIF among others.

Yoho! is an integrated business that combines content creation and communication, combing media matrix, and a retailing and lifestyle business. The streetwear platform is arguably the biggest of its kind in China and is working to develop its omni-channel approach.

The business, which was founded in 2005, includes the platforms Yoho!Boy, Yoho!Girl, the flagship event Yohood, and the e-commerce site Yoho!Buy.

Yoho! also has numerous brick-and-mortar retail locations such as Yoho!Store and Yoho!Blu and the streetwear brand incubator Yo!Gallery.

With streetwear booming in China, the business is currently expanding offline after opening the first Yoho!Store in Nanjing in 2017 after three years preparation.

The store measures 5,000 square-metres and houses over 100 fashion brands. The store is an example of the omni-channel approach the group is pursuing with in-store WeChat mini programs, RFID-powered shelves, and smart fitting rooms.

Fashion investment firm C Ventures invested in Yoho! Group due to its significant influence in the streetwear market. The latest round of funding also sees the group enter into deep partnership with K11, the international lifestyle brand operator under New World Group.

K11 will be a platform for Yoho! Group to reach a large Chinese audience through a strategic partnership that includes access to K11's deep offline resources in retail, Grade A office buildings, serviced apartments and hotels in Greater China, and a large customer base.