Wangpiao to Raise Seven-Digit RMB Sum in Second-Round Funding
DoNews, 9/30/11
Jiang Chunyang, CEO of Beijing online film ticket vendor Jietong Wuxian Technology (Wangpiao.com), has announced Wangpiao will soon complete seven-figure RMB second-round funding. Wangpiao raised RMB 30 mln in first-round funding last year. The new funds will be invested in various areas including team building and expansion, mobile terminal development, offline movie theater terminals, and marketing.
Users can select a film, choose seats, and pay for film tickets on the site, which then sends the user a 2D barcode SMS, which can be scanned by Wangpiao's offline terminals in the theater.
At present Wangpiao has partnerships with almost 200 cinemas in more than 30 mid- to large-size cities nationwide. Ticket sales in 2010 exceeded RMB 90 mln, and are expected to double this year. As of the end of 2010, Wangpiao had over 1 mln registered users, with 1 mln purchasing tickets online. Jiang stated that in order to continue increasing its market share, Wangpiao would continue making large-scale investments, and that while annual losses have been in the millions of RMB, he expects the company to achieve profitability next year.
Even driven by group buy deals, Jiang said that online ticket sales account for less than 10% of China's total box office ticket sales.
Wangpiao previously partnered e-commerce sites such as apparel B2C Vancl to offer free tickets as a promotional gift, which proved successful as both companies target similar demographic segments. According to an industry source, Wangpiao's promotion expenses account for approximately 25% of operating costs.
Wangpiao has released iPhone and Android mobile applications, and plans to add LBS and real-time user film review features, said Jiang. Wangpiao will also explore cooperating with businesses located near cinemas in order to offer users a one-stop service for movie tickets, dining, shopping, and other deals.
Keywords: Jiang Chunyang Wangpiao revenue film Vancl e-commerce Internet marketing funding B2C 2D barcode first-round registered users second-round profit online ticketing loss group buying