Chinese sneakerheads’ favourite shopping app Dewu to cut 500 jobs as weak spending persists

The niche Shanghai-based e-commerce platform said it is cutting about 5 per cent of its workforce of 10,000 and reducing spending on ‘low-yield’ projects

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The e-commerce app Dewu has built up a following among young Chinese consumers by catering to niche interests. Photo: Sohu

Published: 6:30pm, 8 Aug 2024

Shanghai-based e-commerce app Dewu, a popular option among young Chinese consumers looking for niche brands, will trim its workforce by 5 per cent amid weak Chinese consumer spending, according to an internal letter to employees on Wednesday.

Dewu employees who received the letter, and declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak on the matter, said the job cuts will affect approximately 500 positions out of the total payroll of 10,000. Dewu – which started in 2015 as an online community sharing data about sports, shoes and fashion – has decided to cut jobs as it tries to suspend or reduce resources used for “low-yield” projects amid a grim market environment, according to the letter.

Dewu confirmed the lay-offs on Thursday in a statement to the Post. It said it will hold one-on-one talks with affected employees and provide severance packages.

China’s online shopping industry has become increasingly competitive, with tech giants chasing less yuan as consumers tighten their purse strings. Entrenched players including Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall and Taobao, PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and JD.com are jostling for attention against newer players such as ByteDance’s Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Dewu, founded by the young Chinese billionaire Yang Bing, is not one of the top e-commerce apps in China in terms of turnover, but it has been influential in wooing China’s Gen Z consumers, who are more willing to pay premium prices for certain types of goods.

According to the company’s promotional materials in 2023, about 70 per cent of Dewu users were born after 1995, and about 70 per cent of the 260 million people in that demographic in China have used the app.