Way to go, GoGoVan! Unicorn reveals global goals after merger with 58 Suyun
The van-hailing app plans to expand in China and Southeast Asia as it aims to become the number one intra-city logistics platform in the world
GoGoVan and 58 Suyun plan to expand in mainland China and Southeast Asia after merging, aiming to become the number one intra-city logistics platform in the world, company officials said on Tuesday.
The merged company, which will use the name GoGoVan in English and 58 Suyun in Chinese, plans to extend its reach to 200 more Chinese cities. It said it will start providing services to corporate clients in 40 mainland cities, and step into more Southeast Asian markets in the next two to three years.
“The goal of our merged company is to become the world’s largest short-distance logistics platform,” said Steven Lam, co-founder and chief executive of GoGoVan.
The intra-city logistics market in mainland China is currently worth around 800 billion yuan (US$121 billion) for the business-to-business segment, and 400 billion yuan for business-to-consumer. These are expected to grow 20 and 15 per cent respectively annually over the next few years, according to research from Deloitte China.
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The merged company would be a “unicorn,” a start-up valued at over US$1 billion, said Lam, declining to give a specific valuation.
The two firms were not competitive and will complement each other with strengths in different markets and service types, said Chen Xiaohua, chief executive of 58 Home, which owns the business unit 58 Suyun. 58 Home is operated by New York-listed 58.com, of which Chinese internet giant Tencent is the largest shareholder.