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Launched by China’s Wanda, Tencent and Baidu, Ffan.com is growing into one of the world’s largest ‘Online to Offline’ platforms.

Key facts

  • Dalian Wanda, one of China’s largest mall developers, partnered with online giants Tencent and Baidu in a $814-million venture to launch online-to-offline (O2O) platform Ffan.com in 2015.
  • The Ffan.com¹ website and mobile platform (iOS and Android) aims to gain customer traction by bridging the online world with Wanda’s chain of more than 100 malls and department stores.

Uniqueness

  • A variety of O2O services are facilitated including: order goods online and pick up in store, in-mall navigation, book restaurant tables in advance and receive notifications upon availability.
  • Part of Ffan’s strategy to get customers to stores is by not offering delivery services.
  • The platform attracts shoppers through a loyalty program, where points are earned for activities such as checking into physical locations, writing reviews and making purchases.

Value

  • Market for O2O in China is estimated at ~ RMB 290 billion and 240 million users.
  • Target to enroll 100 million loyal members within the first year.
  • Wanda, Tencent and Baidu predict they will invest RMB 20 billion ($3.22 billion) in the platform over the next five years.

Approach

  • Partnership breakdown: 70% Wanda, 30% shared evenly by Tencent and Baidu.
  • The mega partnership is rivaling Alibaba, which is also investing $692 million in their own O2O venture InTime Retail.
  • Since its December 2014 IPO, Wanda has acquired online payment platform 99bill.com, which Ffan users can utilize as a payment method during purchases.

Footnote
1. Source: www.ffan.com; WEF/Accenture Analysis

Ffan.com is one of more than 100 case studies identified as part of the World Economic Forum’s Digital Transformation of Industries initiative. An overview of the DTI program can be found here.

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