China's top luxury e-commerce site, backed by LVMH — then it kept customers' money

Li Rixue founded Secoo (寺库) in 2008 as a second-hand luxury goods marketplace. By 2014 it was China's largest personal luxury goods transaction website. It raised over 300 million dollars across five funding rounds from IDG Capital, Ping An Ventures and others. On 22 September 2017, Secoo listed on NASDAQ, raising approximately 140 million dollars.

In July 2018, L Catterton (LVMH's investment arm) and JD.com invested 175 million dollars in Secoo, signalling that the global luxury industry had endorsed the platform. In June 2020, fintech company Qudian acquired a 28.9 percent stake for 100 million dollars, becoming the largest shareholder. The company appeared to have the capital and the brand relationships to dominate Chinese luxury e-commerce.

In early 2021, Secoo began defaulting on payments to suppliers. From May 2021, consumers reported that the platform neither delivered goods nor refunded payments. Employees were owed wages. The company that had processed billions of yuan in luxury transactions could not return a customer's deposit for a handbag.

In November 2022, the Beijing Consumer Association confirmed that authorities had opened an investigation into Secoo for suspected consumer-rights violations. The company was subject to mandatory enforcement totalling over 7.66 million yuan and listed as a dishonest debtor. Its Beijing headquarters was reported empty. The NASDAQ-listed company backed by the world's largest luxury group had become a shell that owed its customers money it could not return.