Chinese social networking site Kaixin001.com has announced that its group buying business, which it previously operated on its own, will transform to a third-party cooperation model.
Starting from October 2011, the company will jointly operated this business with Ftuan.com, a Chinese website focusing on the online group buying sector.
Guo Wei, vice president of Kaixin001.com, said that starting from October, the products and customer services of the group buying business of Kaixin001.com will all be provided by Ftuan.com, and Kaixin001.com will only serve as a third-party platform. Products previously bought from Kaixin001.com will still be valid.
Over the past month, many Chinese group buying websites have reportedly contacted Kaixin001.com and implemented in-depth talks about the joint operation of the buying business of Kaixin001.com. Kaixin001.com and Ftuan.com finally reached an agreement; however, Kaixin001.com said that it may also cooperate with other group buying websites via the third-party applications on its open platform.
Prior to this, Kaixin001.com had become a promotion channel for group buying and e-commerce websites in China. Apart from advertising income, the numbers of its third-party applications and website links have been increasing. At present, the applications of ten Chinese group buying websites have entered Kaixin001.com and websites like Dianping.com, 360buy.com, M18.com, Okbuy.com, and 58.com have realized access to Kaixin001.com.
Kaixin001.com officially entered the Chinese group buying market in December 2010 and its initial positioning is to establish a group buying navigation platform for white collar users. At the end of February 2011, the website launched its own group buying deals.