The overall operation of the consumer market in September was stable. The national CPI (consumer price index) remained flat month-on-month, with a year-on-year increase of 0.4%. Influenced by factors such as the start of the school season and the Mid-Autumn Festival, the price of food rose significantly contributing to a 0.16 percentage point increase in the CPI.

Data from the Caijing Venture Capital Information Platform shows that in September 2024, there were 36 disclosed financing events in the domestic consumer-related field, a year-on-year decrease of 52.6% and a month-on-month decrease of 30.8%; based on the disclosed investment and financing amounts, the cumulative financing in the consumer-related field in April was 2.746 billion yuan, a decrease of 18.3% and a month-on-month decrease of 6.06%.

From the data perspective, in September, both the quantity and amount of investment and financing remained at a low level, and the market investment enthusiasm tended towards rationality. Several investment and financing events worth over hundreds of millions emerged, benefiting from the warming of the domestic consumer electronics sector, with good investment situations in smart hardware, logistics warehousing, and other areas.

Specifics of Investment and Financing in September

In September, smart hardware became a focal point of the capital market, with a total of 8 funded projects and a financing amount of 0.6 billion yuan, mainly related to wearable device projects. Of note, although only 3 projects in the logistics warehousing sector received investment this month, the financing amount was significantly ahead, reaching 1.042 billion yuan.

Specifically, there are 4 wearable device-related projects in smart hardware that have received investment. Among them, two companies dedicated to the smart glasses field have received investments exceeding 100 million yuan each. "Rokid" C+ round received an investment of approximately 100 million yuan, with the investor being Jiangxia Ke Investment Group. "LeBird Innovation" B+ and B++ rounds of financing received an investment of approximately 0.4 billion yuan, jointly invested by Jiaxing Xinchuang Venture Capital, Nanhujinfu, Wuxi Huishan Science and Technology Innovation, Huikai Investment, and other institutions.

Dining retail remains a hot area for investment and financing. Dining chain enterprises have received stable investments, including Sichuan cuisine chain brand "Meizhou Dongpo", chain brand "Zesheng Dining" focusing on inheritance and innovation, and dining service provider "Mailianggu Food". In addition, 3 enterprises engaged in food processing have successfully received investments, mainly focusing on A-round and B-round mid-to-late financing projects, including internet sauce brand "Erhe Jiajia", Songhe Weng Baijiu manufacturer "Mingyuan Ecological", and prickly pear processing service provider "Zhongzhihao Cili".

In addition, the logistics and warehousing sector received significant attention in September, with a total financing amount exceeding 1 billion yuan. New energy urban logistics vehicle developer "Zhidaoke Technology", supply chain service provider "Wanwuji Supply Chain", and intelligent warehouse developer "Kuai Cangzhineng" received investments. Among them, "Kuai Cangzhineng" raised a total fundraising amount exceeding 100 million US dollars.

In terms of e-commerce retail, a total of 6 companies received investments, with early-stage angel round financing projects and mid-to-late stage financing projects each accounting for half. Digital printing technology service provider "Jiuheng Digital", "Youzhuopin Technology" operating in the R&D and sales of 3C digital electronic products, and electronic consumer product trading service provider "Ying Fan Trade" received angel round financing. "Zhongke Hujuer" focusing on medical health and cross-border e-commerce player "Xinhong Technology" secured Pre-A round financing, while brand collection discount service provider "HitGoo" received B round financing exceeding 100 million yuan.

In terms of investment rounds, angel rounds and A rounds of investment account for more than half, reaching 22% and 33% of the total investment and financing, respectively. Compared to the previous month, B rounds and Pre-A rounds of investment have increased, while the proportion of C rounds, strategic investments, and private equity investments have decreased significantly, with no seed round investment and financing appearing.

In September, Guangdong remains a hot province for consumer entrepreneurship, with a total of 14 investment and financing events, mainly focusing on consumer electronics products, smart wearable devices, and cross-border e-commerce. Zhejiang's funded projects are concentrated in smart wearable devices, aviation passenger transportation, and pet supplies. Shanghai had fewer investments in September, with only two companies receiving investments.

Important projects worth paying attention to.

In September, the amount of investment in the consumer sector exceeding one hundred million yuan increased compared to the previous month, with a total of 10 projects, mainly focusing on series B and later-stage financing projects, with only 1 company in the early-stage financing angel round. Financing projects are mainly concentrated in the technology sector, including smart automobiles, smart glasses, smart speakers, and other tracks. It is also worth noting that this month there are few instances of investment institutions pooling investments, with mostly 1-3 institutions completing investments exceeding one hundred million yuan.

1. Raybird Innovation secures over 0.5 billion financing in half a year.

Raybird Innovation was established on October 31, 2021, as a cutting-edge brand focused on the AR field, dedicated to creating a consumer-grade AR ecosystem and providing users with high-quality AR products.

According to the research report from BOC International, the production difficulties of AR glasses and the insufficient user demand are gradually being resolved. It is expected that the market size of AR glasses will reach the billion-unit level in the future and evolve into the next-generation computing terminal. Raybird Innovation, as the only AR company in the industry with core optical solutions self-developed across the entire chain and mass production capability, deeply understands this industry's development trends and demonstrates strong competitiveness in technology and product innovation.

On September 25th, Raybird Innovation announced the completion of Series B+ and B++ financing, jointly invested by Jiaxing Xinchuang Venture Capital, Nanhu Jinfu, Wuxi Huishan Science and Technology Innovation, Huikai Investment, and other institutions. With this, Raybird Innovation has raised over 0.5 billion yuan in total financing in the past six months. This round of financing will mainly be used for AI + AR technology research and development, expanding the AR production manufacturing base, further consolidating and expanding the company's leading position in the consumer-grade AR glasses market, accelerating product popularization, and technological innovation.

2. Eliminating manual labor for humans: Quick Warehouse Intelligence completes Series D financing round.

Quick Warehouse Intelligence was established in 2014 as a provider of intelligent warehouse robot system solutions and owns the largest thousand-level intelligent warehouse with robots in China. Quick Warehouse is committed to providing customers with efficient and flexible logistics automation services through its independently developed mobile robots and intelligent systems, continuously driving the global warehousing and logistics industry towards digitalization and intelligence, and achieving the great vision of 'eliminating manual labor for humans'.

On September 12th, Quick Warehouse Intelligence announced the successful completion of Series D financing, raising a total amount of over one hundred million US dollars. This round of financing was jointly invested by Golden Egret Capital, Far Eastern Group, Wuxi Liangxi Sci-Tech Innovation, and Weifang Yuanfei Industrial Fund. Yang Wei, the founder and CEO of Quick Warehouse Intelligence, stated that the funds raised in this round will mainly be used for international market expansion, product innovation, and enhancing user experience.

3. HitGoo secures billion-dollar financing as its focus shifts from scale to profitability.

HitGoo was founded in January 2021 and is an operator of a chain discount shopping store brand, integrating internet new retail, information technology services, supply chain trade, and chain brand management into a comprehensive retail consumer industry group. Users can purchase global discount products through online stores and physical stores. The company has physical stores in locations such as Wangjing, Yanqing, and Huairong.

On September 5th, HitGoo announced the completion of a new round of financing exceeding a billion yuan, stating that the company will further strengthen the construction of the supply chain and technology system, committed to providing consumers with the most cost-effective products and highest quality services. Founder Zhang Qiang disclosed that HitGoo currently has nearly 500 stores, with future plans to expand to 3000 stores.

Additionally, Zhang Qiang expressed during a public event in July that HitGoo expects to reach a scale of 1000 stores by the end of this year and intends to continuously strengthen its presence in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Shandong, and the northeastern region, while gradually reducing operations in other areas. 'In the past, our core was expansion, but now it's profitability,' he said.

4. Nuowa Coffee enters convenience store coffee, exploring a new model of store partnership.

NOWWA Nuowa Coffee was established in June 2019 and is a boutique chain coffee brand. In over 3 years, it has opened more than 1800 stores, with service coverage in over 100 cities. It has been listed on major online platforms such as Eleme, Meituan Dianping, Douyin, Tmall, providing freshly ground coffee, freshly made tea drinks, bread and pastries, as well as coffee retail products for users. Offline, it has a wide store coverage in first-tier, second-tier, and third-tier cities, building an accessible service network and has become one of the top three domestic coffee brands in terms of the number of stores.

Recently, Nuowa Coffee announced the completion of a multi-billion B++ round of financing with investors including Yong Mountain Tianji, Shengjing Jiacheng Mother Fund, and Yuanxing Capital. This funding will be used to increase investment in the supply chain and new product development. Previously, Nuowa Coffee has completed 5 rounds of financing with investors including Jinsha River Venture Capital, SIG Asia Pacific, 37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group, Jue Capital Investment, Belle Group Consumer Fund, Yuanxing Capital, GurryShark Capital, Boliza Venture Capital, and several angel investors.

It is reported that Nuowa Coffee has launched the 'Coffee+' partnership plan, which will establish partnership stores with various formats such as convenience stores, internet cafes, chain hotels, and bakeries. Jianfu Convenience Store is the first officially announced cooperative brand for this plan. On October 9th, Nuowa Coffee and Jianfu Convenience Store announced a strategic cooperation to develop store partnerships under the 'Coffee+ Convenience Store' model. The first batch of 150 cooperative partnership stores are gradually being established, with an expected 500 partnership stores to be operational this year and aiming for 2000 next year, covering the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Jiangsu.

The situation of IPO applications in the two cities is average, and the home appliance giant has achieved an 'A+H' listing.

As September begins, the Hong Kong stock market continues the lackluster trend of August, with only two companies submitting documents. Last month, the home appliance company 'Midea Group,' which had its hearing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September, officially listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on September 17, marking Midea Group's completion of an 'A+H' listing, becoming the second home appliance giant after Haier Smart Home to achieve an 'A+H' listing.

According to the listing announcement of Midea Group, this IPO globally issued 0.566 billion H shares, with an IPO price of HK$54.8 per H share. After calculation, the company's initial fundraising of H shares is approximately HK$31 billion. After deducting the relevant underwriting commissions and other estimated expenses from the global offering, the company is expected to receive a net amount of approximately HK$30.673 billion from the global offering. Midea Group has become the largest IPO project in the Hong Kong stock market this year, and the fundraising amount for this H share issuance has also set a new high in the Hong Kong stock market in nearly three years.

In addition, on September 25th, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced the information collection after the hearing for China Resources Beverage, indicating that this domestic bottled water giant has passed the hearing and is expected to officially debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as October.

According to the latest hearing documents of China Resources Beverage, for the four months ending on April 30, 2024, the company's revenue is approximately RMB 4.15 billion, with a profit of around RMB 0.461 billion. Specifically, packaged drinking water products account for the majority of revenue, with revenue of around RMB 3.721 billion in the first four months of this year, contributing to nearly 90% of the revenue. In addition, beverage products contribute 10.3% of the revenue, approximately RMB 0.429 billion.

On September 17th, Flashback Technology also submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the main board, with CVC Capital Partners acting as the sole sponsor. According to information from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company previously submitted applications to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February of this year.

According to the prospectus, Flashback Technology is a company providing aftermarket trading services for consumer electronics products, focusing on the mobile phone recycling service market. It is the largest offline-to-new mobile phone recycling service provider in China and the third-largest mobile phone recycling service provider, with market shares of 7.4% and 1.4% respectively. Although Flashback Technology's performance has been growing rapidly, it has yet to turn a profit. It incurred losses of RMB 4.87 billion, RMB 9.9 billion, and RMB 9.83 billion in 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively. As of June 30, Flashback Technology has already incurred losses of RMB 4.01 billion this year, and its future development remains to be seen.

In September, there were no consumer companies applying for IPO in the A-share market, with only one consumer company successfully breaking through the tightening IPO review standards and listing. On September 13th, Zhongcaoxiang Spice made its debut on BSE, and its stock price surged on the first day of trading. According to Wind data, Zhongcaoxiang Spice had the highest closing gain on its debut day among stocks listed on BSE in nearly ten months, and it is also the fifth highest closing gain for a new stock listed on BSE in history.

Chule shares, a dairy brand that failed to list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange four times, turned to the National Equities Exchange and Quotations and successfully listed on the New Third Board on September 24th. It is worth noting that listing on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations has prerequisites, which include being an innovative layer company listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations for a continuous period of 12 months. Therefore, starting from September 24, 2024, Chule shares would need at least another year to successfully land on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations.