Chinese Streetwear Retailer Knowin Secures Several Hundred Million Yuan, Led by Alibaba

Knowin, a one-stop trends and lifestyle brand for Gen Z, announced on Thursday the completion of a new round of financing worth several hundred million yuan. This round was led by Alibaba, followed by previous shareholders Sky9 Capital, Matrix Partners and Zhen Fund. Palm Capital Asia Partners continues to serve as exclusive financial advisor.

At the early stage of its establishment, the company obtained an angel round of investment led by Bilibili. Wang Sicong, as an early investor, also helped the growth of Knowin. In May 2021, the company received nearly 200 million yuan ($31.39 million) in an A-round financing. This new round of financing is the third one completed by Knowin this year.

Founded in 2020, Knowin aims at young people aged 20-30. On the one hand, the company constantly explores and meets the needs of young customers and brings people with the same tastes together. On the other hand, it also creates a space for the brand to interact with its customers, and is a one-stop trends and lifestyle platform integrating exhibitions and brand marketing.

The brand adopts Gen Z fashion trends in its stores, including with the visual presentation, interactive walls and themed exhibitions, which always bring customers fresh feelings.

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On October 1, 2020, the first offline store of Knowin was settled in Shanghai. It has opened several flagship stores in Chengdu, Wuhan and Changsha. The new flagship stores in Hangzhou and Shanghai are scheduled to open at the end of December this year.

According to information provided by the team, the sales of the first store in Shanghai exceeded 4 million yuan in the first month. Now, the first store in Shanghai and the flagship store in Chengdu have achieved steady operation, with an average monthly turnover of over 10 million yuan.