Chinese Former eBay Subsidiary EachNet.com Announces Closure
Chinese e-commerce firm EachNet.com, which was once owned by eBay, has recently announced that it will cease website operations at 24:00 on August 12, due to the adjustment of its operation strategy.
According to the announcement, EachNet.com will close transactions of all shops on its website and will shut down the website server before August 12.
In August 1999, the firm was set up in Shanghai, specializing in e-commerce. After only one year of establishment, it had become the largest e-commerce website in China, ranking top in various indicators for a long time. IDG, Chinese Founders Fund Partners, AsiaTech Group, Orchid Asia and other institutions injected three rounds of investment into the company within two years.
In 2002, eBay, the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace, injected $30 million into EachNet.com, purchasing remaining shares for $150 million in 2003, bringing the firm into the fold. 2003 was a turning point in EachNet.com’s fate, as Taobao was founded in the same year.
In 2004, EachNet.com and eBay were merged into one. Users of the website could then trade with more than 100 million users from America, Europe and Asian countries. In 2005, it was also connected with PayPal, in an attempt to make online payment easier for users.
However, the firm was obviously no match for Taobao, which was then more familiar with Chinese consumers, and it was losing the battle for local e-commerce in China. In 2006, EachNet.com’s market share had dropped to 29%, with Taobao owning nearly 70% of the market. By the second quarter of 2012, Taobao accounted for 95% of the C2C online shopping market, while EachNet.com’s share had dropped to 0.01%.
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EachNet.com had also tried to find an alternative to Taobao’s local strategy, such as launching an overseas shopping business in 2010 to provide users with goods from US shopping sites, but with little success. Since then, with eBay’s withdrawal from the Chinese market, the firm has also been transferred to Tom Group, and has gradually faded out of public view.
