MMB

About MMB

MMB, registered as Maimaibao Information Technology Co., Ltd., carved out a specific niche within China's vast e-commerce landscape by focusing on the nation's rural and migrant worker populations. The company was established in 2006 by Zhang Xiaowei, who conceived the business idea while he was a student at Tsinghua University. Zhang's journey began with the creation of a mobile gaming community named Leku Community. Through direct interaction with his user base, he identified a significant and underserved market: grassroots consumers, particularly migrant workers, who were often overlooked by major e-commerce players.

Recognizing this opportunity, Zhang pivoted, launching a shopping channel within his gaming community, which served as the precursor to MMB.cn. The platform was one of the earliest to enter the mobile e-commerce sector in China, strategically targeting a demographic that was increasingly using mobile phones as their primary internet access device. MMB's business model is centered on direct-to-consumer sales, primarily through its WAP page and, later, dedicated mobile applications. The company's operations are tailored to its clientele, acknowledging the unique challenges of serving rural areas. This includes robust customer service to guide users who may be less familiar with online shopping and a logistics network designed to reach remote towns, villages, and even islands. To accommodate the preferences of its user base, MMB heavily supports cash-on-delivery payments, a crucial service for a population with lower credit card penetration.

The company's product assortment is curated to meet the specific needs and price points of its target customers. This approach stems from Zhang's initial observation that this consumer group did not identify with mainstream, heavily advertised brands. Financially, MMB has attracted significant investor interest throughout its history. It secured investments from Far East Holding Group, Sequoia Capital, and Tencent between 2007 and 2010. Later, in July 2015, the company announced a Series D financing round involving京东 (JD.com) and a follow-on investment from Tencent, which also led to a strategic cooperation with JD.com in supply chain, warehousing, and logistics.