Fintech PR
AliExpress Order Volume Surges 60%, Driven by Choice
SINGAPORE, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — AliExpress order volume has increased by 60% year-over-year, according to the financial results announced by Alibaba Group Holding Limited (“Alibaba Group”) for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. This strong performance contributed to a 44% year-over-year growth in Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group’s revenue, exceeding market expectations for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Bringing Shopping to the Next Level
The catalyst behind this robust growth is AliExpress’ Choice, a premium service introduced in March 2023. Designed to redefine cross-border shopping, Choice offers customers exceptional value, a curated selection of high-quality products, logistics and superior customer service at every touchpoint.
Thanks to Choice, customers in a growing number of markets now enjoy perks including free shipping, assured on-time delivery and free returns. For example, products in the AliExpress Choice section are eligible for free shipping in the majority of applicable markets for purchases worth over US$10 or when any three selected items are bought. As of December 2023, over 20 markets, including Spain and France, enjoy free returns on all Choice products, and 23 markets, including Germany and Switzerland, are offered an on-time delivery guarantee.
Logistics remains a cornerstone of Choice‘s success, with AliExpress and logistics partner Cainiao extending their global five-day delivery coverage to include 10 markets in the quarter. The volume of orders eligible for this expedited service has seen a triple-digit increase from the previous quarter. In January 2024, nearly half of the AliExpress orders were placed through Choice, underscoring the service’s rapidly increasing customer adoption.
Fueling Diverse and Dynamic Growth
Beyond logistics enhancements, Choice has broadened AliExpress’ product offerings by providing sellers with a one-stop solution that seamlessly integrates sales operations, payment, logistics and warehousing, making it possible for them to concentrate on product innovation and manufacturing. This approach allows sellers to efficiently expand internationally, driving growth for both their own businesses and AliExpress. In anticipation of the Spring Festival, the Cainiao-AliExpress joint warehouse for Choice reported a six-fold growth of stock volume year-over-year, partly fueled by the broadened product selection enabled by the service.
Gary Topp, AliExpress European Commercial Director, expressed enthusiasm about Choice‘s impact: “The introduction of Choice represents a watershed moment for AliExpress. By delivering standout features like complimentary shipping, swift delivery and easy returns, we are cultivating stronger customer loyalty while solidifying our market presence. Looking ahead, we are dedicated to further refining the Choice offering and perpetually elevating the shopper experience.”
The introduction of Choice has been pivotal to the growth of AliExpress’ global footprint. In Spain, AliExpress claimed the title of the second most-visited e-commerce platform in December 2023, as per Club Ecommerce and EGI Group statistics. In the United States, Similarweb data indicates AliExpress’ monthly average visits soared to 24.2 million in 2023 – a 290% year-on-year spike, marking it as one of the nation’s fastest-growing e-commerce sites. Moreover, the number of monthly active AliExpress users in South Korea reached the 7 million mark last November, nearly doubling year-over-year, according to mobile analytics firm WiseApp.
About AliExpress
Launched in 2010, AliExpress is a business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce platform enabling global consumers to buy directly from manufacturers and distributors in China and around the world. In addition to the global English-language version, the AliExpress platform is also available in 17 other languages. AliExpress is part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.
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Fintech PR
Recharge partners with ABN AMRO for €45 million to boost their M&A
The partnership creates a formidable M&A war chest, enabling Recharge to seize opportunities in consolidating the prepaid payments industry.
LONDON, Jan. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Recharge, the European leader in online prepaid payments, has secured a €45 million facility with ABN AMRO to fuel its ambitious M&A strategy. This funding will enable the company to drive consolidation across markets, open new segments and overall strengthen its leadership position in the prepaid payments industry.
The €45 million facility is part of a broader strategy to leverage strategic acquisitions as a growth driver. Combined with Recharge’s robust cash reserves, and following previous funding rounds, it has created a substantial war chest for M&A and aims to close two to three deals in 2025.
The competitive tender process attracted a range of proposals, with ABN AMRO emerging as the preferred partner. The bank’s confidence in Recharge’s market potential and alignment with their strategic approach were key factors in securing the deal.
Bas Janssen, senior banker Digital and Consumer clients, ABN AMRO, said: “ABN AMRO is proud to support Recharge as they continue to scale and innovate in the prepaid payments sector. ABN AMRO is on a trajectory to become the preferred tech bank in the Netherlands and North West Europe. This collaboration reflects our appetite to support digital transformation —one of our three strategic pillars. We see great promise in Recharge’s growth trajectory as they broaden their reach within the global prepaid payments space.”
Recharge’s CEO, Günther Vogelpoel, highlighted the company’s future outlook:
“This new facility comes at a pivotal time for Recharge as we embark on the next phase of our journey. I am excited to partner with ABN AMRO, whose support enables us to accelerate our growth strategy and reshape the prepaid payments landscape on our terms.”
The prepaid payments sector is evolving rapidly, fuelled by the shift from offline to online and the emergence of innovative use cases. Recharge’s unified digital solutions are at the forefront of this change, redefining how people and businesses leverage prepaid payment products. With 30% year-on-year revenue growth in 2024 and growing demand for its digital prepaid solutions, the company has the ambition to reach €1bn of sales in 2025.
PRESS QUERIES: [email protected]
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Fintech PR
McWin Appoints Guillaume Charlin as Managing Partner
Former Managing Partner of Boston Consulting Group France to Help Lead the Firm Through Next Period of Growth
LONDON, Jan. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — McWin Capital Partners (“McWin”), a specialist private equity and venture capital firm dedicated to the food ecosystem, is delighted to announce the appointment of Guillaume Charlin as Managing Partner.
Guillaume joins McWin from Boston Consulting Group’s (“BCG”) Paris office, where he spent 27 years. Throughout his career, Guillaume has primarily focused on advising clients in the consumer sector across Food & Beverage (“F&B”), Retail, Fashion and Luxury, which has resulted in an extensive track record of transforming and developing businesses in partnership with C-level executives and investors.
In addition, Guillaume held several senior leadership positions at BCG including Managing Partner for BCG France (overseeing 1,200 people) between 2018-2022, and European Leader for BCG’s consumer business between 2016-2018. In 2022, following its acquisition by BCG, Guillaume was appointed chairman of Quantis, an environmental sustainability consultancy with a focus on the food ecosystem.
As Managing Partner, Guillaume will be responsible, alongside the other Partners, for enhancing value creation across McWin’s portfolio whilst utilising his experience within the F&B industry to support McWin’s growth. He will help in developing and executing a growth strategy for McWin through initiatives such as geographic expansion and penetrating new sectoral markets. Guillaume will also join McWin’s Investment Committee and take an active leadership role in asset management.
Henry McGovern, Founding Partner at McWin commented: “We are delighted to welcome Guillaume to the McWin family. His in-depth knowledge of the food industry, alongside his expertise in management makes him the perfect match for us. Similarly to the rest of our senior leadership team, he brings an entrepreneurial background to the firm, and a passion for entrepreneurs and founders having invested in more than 20 companies over the past 25 years.
Guillaume’s experience gained over the years working alongside entrepreneurs in growth-stage firms has enabled him to become an expert in helping businesses flourish in a strategic way that is both pragmatic and impactful.”
Commenting, Guillaume Charlin said: “I am thrilled to join McWin and am very grateful to Henry, Steve, and the other Partners for their trust in helping lead the business into its next growth trajectory.
I am very impressed by the achievements of the McWin teams since inception. The entrepreneurial DNA, the operator’s mindset and the focus on the food ecosystem bring unique value added to McWin Capital Partners, CEOs, entrepreneurs and investors.
Building on these foundations, I believe McWin is uniquely positioned to shape and capture value creation opportunities as food ecosystems continue to transform by addressing challenges such as environmental impact, consumer health, and food sovereignty whilst simultaneously scaling brands in the restaurant sector.
I look forward to supporting McWin in its mission to create meaningful impact and drive innovation across the food ecosystem.”
Media information:
McWin Capital Partners
Gracechurch Group
For UK and International Media
Jeff Segvich
For French Media
William Moray
+44 (0)20 4582 3500
[email protected]
ABOUT MCWIN CAPITAL PARTNERS
McWin Capital Partners (“McWin”) is a specialist private equity and venture capital firm, dedicated to the food ecosystem. McWin has raised c. €1bn across three funds – McWin Food Ecosystem Fund, McWin Restaurant Fund and McWin Food Technology Fund – to support exceptional founders and CEOs who are at the forefront of impactful change in the food industry.
Since 2021, the firm has backed more than 20 of the most innovative and influential foodservice and food technology companies at growth and mature stages. As an entrepreneur-led business co-founded by veterans of the food industry, McWin provides more than just capital for growth; the firm leverages its scale, network and experience to deliver outstanding returns.
McWin Capital Partners is the trading name for McWin Advisers UK Limited. McWin Advisers UK Limited is an appointed representative of G10 Capital Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 648953). For more information, visit https://mcwin.fund/.
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Fintech PR
AllClear research shows city breaks to peak in 2025, as holiday plans for the new year revealed
LONDON, Jan. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — With people returning to work for the New Year, AllClear Travel Insurance reveals that nine in ten (91%) British people have started the new year with firm resolutions to book up overseas holidays for 2025.
AllClear asked a nationally representative sample of 2,000 Brits about their holiday plans for 2025. Six in ten of those planning to go abroad in 2025 (60%) say they are planning a relaxing beach holiday, the wet cold weather of January perhaps making them yearn for long days of sunshine and clear blue sea.
City breaks are set to enjoy a significant peak in 2025. Whilst the Covid era saw the popularity of city breaks plummet to 13%, they bounced back last spring (23%) and this year is set to see a new peak, with 48% opting for a city break as part of their holiday mix for 2025.
Relaxation and wellbeing are important for holidaymakers in 2025 – with 27% looking forward to the simple pleasures of a holiday lounging by the hotel pool. Cruises are also popular for one in five adults (22%) – peaking with people aged over 55 (29%).
Holiday hotspots for 2025
With the search for heat at the forefront of many holidaymakers’ minds, 49% of those going on holiday abroad are planning to visit hotspots in the Mediterranean. Also, 32% of people say they would like to visit the relaxing shores of the Caribbean this year. However, not everyone is flocking towards hot weather. With heatwaves and floods affecting much of the globe over the last few years, the cooler climates of Northern Europe and Scandinavia are attracting 22% of those going abroad in 2025.
Garry Nelson, Head of Corporate Affairs at AllClear Travel Insurance comments: “From our new research, it is clear that many people have started 2025 with holiday plans firmly in their minds. Not only is the percentage of people planning to travel overseas this year at a new peak but it is apparent that people are planning multiple trips aboard. For many, a summer beach or resort holiday in the sun is coupled with interest in taking city breaks, having activity holidays, a romantic break or a cruise.”
Discover more about AllClear at: www.allcleartravel.co.uk
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/allclear-research-shows-city-breaks-to-peak-in-2025-as-holiday-plans-for-the-new-year-revealed-302352154.html
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