Missfresh’s Bianligou Business Acquired for 30M Yuan

Bianligou, a vending machine business owned by Chinese grocery delivery startup Missfresh, has been acquired, Tech Planet reported on August 23. The acquirer was Shenzhen Daily Convenience Technology Co., Ltd.

According to sources close to the acquisition, Missfresh’s Bianligou business was finally acquired for a price of 30 million yuan ($4.38 million). At present, there are 14,000 Bianligou vending machines, and about 8,000 sets are still in operation, which is equivalent to 2,142 yuan per set.

Industry analysts believe that this is an extremely cost-effective acquisition, and that Shenzhen Daily Convenience Technology can have a stable cash flow without expanding locations.

A middle-level employee of Missfresh said they think this price represents a “fire sale,” because according to Tianyancha, Beijing Missfresh Bianligou E-Commerce Co., Ltd. has completed two rounds of financing, totaling $197 million.

Tianyancha shows that Shenzhen Daily Convenience Technology was registered on June 29, 2022, and its legal representative is Wang Anyong, who is a serial entrepreneur. He founded “YoPoint” on March 9, 2017. The company provides stable and cost-effective intelligent retail terminals and efficient and convenient SaaS services for retail enterprises and vending machine operators, and it has received capital injections from investors such as Huagai Capital and Cheetah Mobile.

According to its official website, YoPoint provides products and services for more than 1,300 vending machine operators in the Chinese market. It was founded in the boom year for vending machines, 2017, when public financing in the field quickly exceeded 2.5 billion yuan in July and August.

Also in 2017, Missfresh hatched an unmanned retail project internally: the Missfresh Bianligou business. They planned to rely on the existing mature supply chain to provide users with near-field retail within 10 meters of the building.

SEE ALSO: Beijing Consumers Association Interviews Missfresh

In fact, there are various traces to follow in this acquisition. On July 28, Missfresh announced mass layoffs and closed its fast delivery business, which accounted for the largest proportion of its revenue, but did not announce the status of the Bianligou business. According to a Missfresh middle-level employee still on the job, Wang Anyong has begun to take over the Bianligou business in mid-July. Future users are likely to see daily cosmetics products on Bianligou’s shelves.