The founders of Yihaodian, a Chinese online retailer 51 percent-owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have resigned to start a new venture.
Chairman Yu Gang and Chief Executive Officer Liu Junling have decided to leave the company and Wal-Mart is “recruiting other leaders”, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said in an e-mailed statement Wednesday. Yu and Liu, former Dell Inc. employees who started the Chinese company in 2008, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Wal-Mart became the largest shareholder of the Shanghai- based e-retailer in 2012 as it sought to tap China’s e-commerce boom. Yihaodian is ranked fifth in China’s Internet retailing market with 2 percent share, trailing the leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s 44 percent and second-place JD.com Inc. with 14 percent, according to researcher Euromonitor International.
“We are pleased with the success Yihaodian has had in China and will work to accelerate that growth,” Wal-Mart said in the statement. “Wal-Mart continues to be committed to investing in China and in e-commerce.”
Marilee McInnis, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, declined to comment when asked about circumstances of the duo’s departure and arrangements for the remaining 49 percent stake in Yihaodian that the company did not own.
Yu started Yihaodian with Liu after the former worked as a supply chain executive at Dell and Amazon.com Inc. The e- commerce website sells products ranging from imported infant formula and fresh vegetables to iPhones.
The company had been working with Wal-Mart on building synergies in sourcing, transportation and e-commerce technology, Yu had said in a 2013 interview.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
