DHgate.com

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DHgate.com
Type E-Commerce
Industry Internet
Headquarters Beijing, China
Key people Diane Wang, founder and CEO
Website www.dhgate.com

DHgate.com (simplified Chinese: 敦煌网; pinyin: Dūnhuángwǎng) is a business-to-business (B2B) e-Commerce website connecting China-based small and medium enterprises with buyers overseas, where users can order Chinese manufactured products directly through the site. It offers customer support through online chat, e-mail messages and phone support.

History

DHgate.com was founded in 2004 by Diane Wang, the current CEO. Though little known outside of China, she is covered in the Chinese media as one of the country's "beautiful woman CEOs" (美女CEO). [1] Before founding DHgate, Wang was one of the founders of Joyo.com. She also once served as Country Marketing Director of Cisco Systems where she managed China marketing communications. Wang also served as the Marketing Service Manager and Head of Business Development Department for Microsoft (China) Corporation for six years (from 1993 to 1999).[2]

Based on figures from the first quarter of 2011, DHgate.com claims to have about 25 million product listings from over 900,000 Chinese suppliers and 4 million buyers from 230 different countries.[3] The website allows users to post, browse and order wholesale products from Chinese manufacturers and sellers.[4]

The company website states that the company has grown 1,771% in the past three years, a figure that influenced its selection on the 2009 Deloitte Technology China's Top 50 Fast Growing Enterprises. Merchandise available on the site include electronics, beauty products, outdoor sporting supplies, clothes, etc.[5] Currently over 50% of the website's buyers are located in North America and Europe.[3]

DHgate has until recently worked closely with PayPal, with whom the company has had a strategic partnership. DHgate was PayPal's largest customer in the Asia-Pacific region. However, as of 6 August 2012, DHgate's agreement with PayPal was terminated and the company no longer accepts PayPal payments.[6] The China Construction Bank also cooperates with DHgate to offer a microloan service (called "CCB-DHgate eBaotong") to users with good records on the site.[7] Other strategic partners include UPS and eBay.

In 2010, DHgate obtained third round funding from the American private equity firm Warburg Pincus totaling nearly 200 million RMB (equivalent to over 30 million USD).[8]

The name

The "DH" in DHgate refers to Dunhuang (Mandarin 敦煌 (Dūnhuáng)), a Chinese city in modern-day Gansu province and formerly a strategic point on the Silk Road which linked China to the rest of the world during ancient times.[2] The name alludes to the company's place as a modern, online version of the Silk Road linking customers between China and abroad.

Awards

2009

  • Ranked 222nd in China Trade Future Stars by the Business Review 2009[9]
  • Ranked last in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 China 2009[10]
  • Ranked last in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Asia-Pacific 2009[11]

2010

  • Ranked in the China Industrial E-commerce Dotcom Top 100[12]

2011

  • Recommended by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce as one of China's Top 4 E-Commerce Platforms for International Trade [13]
  • Ranked Number One B2B Dotcom Power in the B2B category at the 2011 China E-commerce Culture Festival[14]

References

  1. ↑ "DHgate's Diane Wang: A Beautiful Woman CEO Who Completely Defies Ma Yun". Hexun TV. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Wang Shutong: A Ladylike Success in China's IT Field". CRI News. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Diane Wang: Rounding up the "Ant" Heroes". Sino Foreign Management. 
  4. ↑ Another online shopping website similar to DHgate.
  5. ↑ "Global E-commerce Guide: Hotspots in the First Half of 2011". sohu.com. 
  6. ↑ "Paypal Loses Biggest Asia Partner as China’s DHgate Pulls the Plug". TechInAsia. 
  7. ↑ "DHgate works with CCB". Global Times. 
  8. ↑ "Warburg Pincus Leads Third-Round Investment to DHgate.com with RMB200M". PE Daily. 
  9. ↑ "DHgate wins second place in the 2009 China Trade Future Stars Competition". Feng Huang Net Finance. 
  10. ↑ "Deloitte Technology Fast 50 China 2009 List". 
  11. ↑ "Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2009 Winners Report". Deloitte Technology. 
  12. ↑ "Second Chinese E-Commerce Cultural Festival's Dotcom Top 100". 
  13. ↑ "May 5 Conference on E-commerce Platforms for International Trade". Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China Department of Foreign Trade. 
  14. ↑ "DHgate takes first place in the 2011 China E-commerce Culture Festival". Do News. 

External links

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