A couple of days ago, Chinese ecommerce media started reporting that the site of JollyChic, once amongst the most promising stars in cross border ecommerce, is no longer accessible.
The backend of the seller centre is no longer accessible as well.
This should be largely symbolic – of the end of an era, but it is hardly a surprise. The social media of JollyChic has not been updated since July last year:
We have also been writing about some of the signs on TheLowDown since 2019:
JollyChic has made a number of mistakes in leadership, people, organization and product. During the fast expansion phase after Sequoia-led series C round in 2018, the consequences of some of these mistakes were amplified and eventually proven to be lethal.
Nonetheless, as an early starter of ecommerce in the Middle East, JollyChic has done an amazing job educating the market, advancing the infrastructure, and fast forwarding the ecosystem in general.
We should also remember Fetchr, Souq, and even Awok, the other pioneers in the market.
SheIn, JollyChic competitor from the Chinese city of Nanjing, took over the baton and has been steadily delivering fashion to consumers across the Middle East (and the world).
And as our recent report on Chinese Cross Border ecommerce indicates, there are still a lot of opportunities in the sector to be explored.