According to Sanyan Caijing, a Chinese tech media in China, the e-cigarette company SnowPlus has begun cutting staff with plans to layoff over 50% of its employees. Numerous Chinese companies have struggled to raise funds or stay afloat following the online sales ban of e-cigarettes in China that was put into place in 2019.
According to PEdaily, a Chinese venture capital news outlet, SnowPlus was attempting to find investors outside of China but has not made any fundraising announcement since outlets reported they had once raised up to USD $40 million.
PE Daily, the Chinese venture capital news outlet also reported that Snowplus has been attempting to raise funds outside of China but has failed to do so. Therefore, SnowPlus could be close to having not much left in the bank. SnowPlus has not made any public statements since the news has leaked.
In another sign that other players in the industry are feeling the pain from the online ban and weak sales, Flow, another major player in the China e-cigarette market was also reportedly laying off staff. The company reportedly is down from 400 employees in October 2019 to now having less than 100 in 2020.
Leave a Reply