M
Meilele
eCommerce & Marketplaces · Foshan, China · Founded 2008
Meilele is a Chinese professional household B2C e-commerce platform that is focused on the commercialization of furniture MoreLess
Meilele operates as an online-to-offline (O2O) e-commerce platform within China's home furnishings market. The company was established in 2008, initially launching as a store on the Taobao marketplace to sell its own furniture brands. The founding team included Gao Yang, who served as CEO, along with Li Yonggang and Huang Hui. Gao Yang brought experience from the US tech industry and previously served as CTO for DHgate.com, a major B2B e-commerce platform.
A significant strategic shift occurred in 2011 when Meilele moved away from third-party marketplaces like Taobao to concentrate on its proprietary B2C website, meilele.com. Concurrently, the firm pioneered a distinctive O2O business model in the local furniture sector by opening a network of physical showrooms, branded as "experience stores." This integrated approach allows customers to browse and select products online and then interact with them physically at a local store before purchase, addressing a key friction point in online furniture retail. Revenue is generated directly from the sale of a wide array of home goods. The product catalog extends beyond furniture to include building materials, lighting, home textiles, and appliances, effectively offering a one-stop-shop solution.
The company's O2O strategy fueled a period of rapid expansion. After securing a Series A funding round in 2011, Meilele raised a substantial $40 million in a Series B round in 2012, with backers including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vertex Venture Holdings, and KTB Capital. This capital injection facilitated the aggressive rollout of its physical footprint, which grew to over 350 stores. The business model involves a combination of selling its self-branded furniture and acting as a platform for other established domestic brands. More recent reports indicate the company has faced significant financial distress, with legal proceedings related to bankruptcy commencing in May 2022, and the company is now considered to be out of business.
Keywords: home furnishings, e-commerce, O2O retail, online furniture, Chinese retail, B2C platform, experience stores, furniture marketplace, home goods online, building materials, home decor, online-to-offline, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vertex Venture Holdings, Gao Yang, Li Yonggang, dual-platform retail, home improvement e-commerce, self-branded furniture, physical showrooms
Company overview
Meilele company information
The essential company record, classifications and operating signals in one place.
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2008
- Headquarters
- Foshan, China
- Employees
- 132
- Open positions
- None listed
- Dealroom signal
- 25.3
Valuation & funding
Meilele funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERIES B✓Equity / VC | Mar 2012 | $35M | $140M | Lightspeed Venture Partners · Vertex Holdings | — |
| SERIES A✓Equity / VC | Apr 2011 | — | — | Lightspeed Venture Partners | — |
Financials
Revenue and workforce over time
Available revenue and workforce history. Fields without reported data are omitted.
| Year | Revenue | Growth | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $12M | 0% | 132 |
| 2025 | $12M | 0% | 132 |
| 2024 | $12M | 0% | 59 |
| 2023 | $12M | 0% | 81 |
| 2022 | $12M | +29.3% | 80 |
| 2021 | $9.6M | 0% | — |
| 2020 | $9.6M | — | — |
Growth signals
Meilele website traffic
Latest recorded traffic for Meilele is 13K monthly website visits, down 64.9% over the last three months. Meilele's team grew 0% over the past year.
Comparisons
Meilele compared with similar companies
Dealroom’s weighted taxonomy model identifies the closest operating peers. Company identity and context stay open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available in the platform.
| Company | Headquarters | Status | Employees | Total funding | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 tylkoTylko is a tech-enabled furniture company aiming to improve people's living standards while helping save the planet |
Warsaw, Poland | Operational | 212 | $36M | $97M |
 Variety SpaceOnline-to-offline home renovation and decoration service platform based in China |
Dongcheng District, China | Operational | |||
 KupatanaTanzania's largest general classified. Soon launching in Uganda.
Offices and operations in Dar Es Salaam and Kampala |
Stockholms kommun, Sweden | Acquired | |||
 OupickFurniture marketplace that gives buyers opportunity to choose products with 3D tech |
London, United Kingdom | Operational | |||
 GantriGANTRI | Custom Home Lighting + Furniture |
San Francisco, United States | Operational | |||
 EvideaSells homeware and furniture online |
Istanbul, Türkiye | Operational | |||
 sayduck3D management and publishing platform for products with primary outputs for Web 3D and Augmented Reality |
Helsinki, Finland | Acquired | |||
 DisciplineeCommerce & Marketplaces |
Roncade, Italy | Acquired |
Talent graph
Meilele's talent
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
Where Meilele has talent and traffic
team presence
In the news
Latest news about Meilele
Recent press, funding announcements, and product moves mentioning Meilele — open to read from the original sources.
Market sentiment
What the market is saying about Meilele
An AI-synthesized read of the highest-engagement posts about Meilele on X over the past 7 days. We rank by likes & retweets, ignore corporate channels, and surface the themes that broke out from real people.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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