Meituan Transaction Volume Exceeds RMB 380 Mln in May 2012
TechWeb, 6/05/12
Responding to recent reports that employees had falsified sales figures, Chinese group buy site Meituan revealed sales figures for 2012 today showing transaction volumes of RMB 360 mln in May, a month in which the company returned RMB 38.47 in refunds to customers, or roughly 10% of sales, giving Meituan a gross profit margin of between 8% and 10%.
Last week, the Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News quoted an individual claiming to be a Meituan employee as saying the company had inflated RMB 100 mln in sales to RMB 300 mln. One of the ways the source claimed that Meituan falsifies sales figures is to direct merchants, friends, and relatives to place orders for group buy deals which they never redeem with businesses, ultimately receiving a refund for the order after the deal expires.
An earlier leaked Powerpoint presentation from Meituan indicated that the company has set a sales target of RMB 4.5 bln for 2012, with a goal of RMB 700 mln in orders in December. Other goals include expanding to employ 1,500 people in sales, achieving a gross profit rate of 10% and gross revenues of RMB 70 mln, and achieving average sales of RMB 500,000 per employee per month, with average gross revenues of RMB 50,000 per employee per month, making Meituan profitable in late December if not earlier.
Meituan VP Wang Huiwen said that while the company has long since ceased its local sub-site expansion, expansion will resume once the company becomes profitable.
Keywords: scam Internet sales target Meituan transaction volume Wang Huiwen group buying
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