Shansong, this super unicorn, is going to be listed on NASDAQ (USA) soon.

I believe you are familiar with the company's business: instant express delivery service. When you need to quickly and safely deliver something from point A to point B, you can use their service.

At its peak, Shansong was valued at approximately 13 billion yuan. In the instant express delivery market, it holds a market share of 33.9%, ranking first in the industry.

01

Founded in 2014, Shansong is headquartered in Haidian, Beijing.

The company's founder is Xue Peng. After returning to China in 2013, Xue Peng observed that although China's express delivery market was developing rapidly, there was still a huge gap in the field of instant delivery. Traditional express delivery services could not meet users' demands for fast, efficient, and personalized delivery. Based on this insight, Xue Peng decided to establish a company focused on instant delivery, which marked the beginning of Shansong.

In terms of delivery services, Shansong primarily addresses two key pain points: speed and safety. Its service network covers 295 cities across China.

How fast is Shansong? According to the latest data from iResearch, Shansong's average delivery time is only 28 minutes, which is nearly 70% shorter than traditional express delivery methods.

How safe is Shansong? In the first half of 2023 and 2024, its average loss rate was only 0.01%.

As of June 30 this year, Shansong had approximately 2.7 million registered riders nationwide, with a cumulative number of served users exceeding 250 million.

02

According to iResearch's 2023 research report, Shansong holds a market share of 33.9% in the independent on-demand dedicated express delivery service market, ranking first in the industry.

Shansong has approximately three competitors, all with relatively low market shares.

Company B: A regional on-demand dedicated express delivery service provider with a market share of approximately 5.4%.

Company C: A subsidiary of a local retail and logistics platform with a market share of approximately 2.3%.

Company D: A subsidiary of an integrated express and logistics service provider with a market share of approximately 0.7%.

Compared to these three companies, Shansong has two core differences:

1. Companies C and D are subsidiaries of larger platforms, such as a subsidiary of Meituan. These companies prioritize fulfilling orders for their parent companies, while Shansong operates as an independent brand.

2. Company B's services are regional, focusing on specific areas, whereas Shansong provides nationwide services.

However, as market competition intensifies, Shansong also faces pressure from other formidable competitors.

For example, JD.com launched its "JD Express" service, leveraging the strengths of JD.com's Dada and JD Home Delivery platforms to aim for ultra-fast delivery within just 9 minutes.

At the same time, Cainiao Networks announced in the middle of this year that it would strengthen its intra-city express delivery capabilities, launching a same-day intra-city delivery service and reducing the prices of first-weight and subsequent-weight shipments to half their original costs.

Additionally, competitors such as Dada Group, SF Express City Express, and Meituan Errand Service also possess strong market influence and technological capabilities, with active rider teams of 1.2 million, 0.95 million, 3 million, and 7.45 million, respectively, covering over 2,000 cities and counties nationwide.

03

Since its inception, Shansong has garnered widespread attention and support from the capital market.

Over the past decade, the company has completed multiple rounds of financing, attracting investors such as Matrix Partners China, CDH Investments, Jiuding Capital, Guangyuan Capital, SIG Asia, Hualian Group, Plus Capital, and Huashan Capital, among other renowned domestic and foreign institutions.

Especially in 2021, Shansong completed a D2 funding round of US$125 million, boosting its valuation to US$2 billion (approximately 13 billion yuan), marking a new peak in its development.

Moreover, what sets Shansong apart is its profitability.

In 2023, Shansong's revenue increased from RMB 4.003 billion in 2022 to RMB 4.529 billion (approximately US$623.2 million), with a net profit of RMB 110.5 million (approximately US$15.2 million), a significant improvement from the net loss of RMB 180.4 million in 2022.

In the first half of 2024 (as of June 30), Shansong's net profit further increased to RMB 123.7 million (approximately US$17 million).