Adrian Cheng, Yoho! to Launch Dazed China Edition
HEADING TO CHINA: Dazed, the London-based bimonthly fashion and style magazine, will unveil the launch of its Chinese edition with Yoho!, a Chinese media, e-commerce and event platform, on Tuesday, WWD has learned.
Mars Liang, founder of Yoho!, said: “This collaboration is not limited to media licensing; I believe with this opportunity, we can create commercial, creative and cultural synergy.”
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The Nanjing-based Yoho! is one of China’s most influential streetwear platforms. Its business portfolio includes the magazine Yoho! Boy and Yoho! Girl; the annual festival Yo’Hood; e-commerce site Yoho! Buy; the brand incubator Yo’Hope, and retail boutiques Yoho! Store and Yoho! Blu.
The two parties were introduced by Adrian Cheng, the entrepreneur and heir to the Hong Kong-based conglomerate New World Development, jewelry brand Chow Tai Fook, Rosewood Hotel and K11 shopping mall. Last December, Cheng’s C Ventures led a $25 million Series E+ investment round in Yoho!. The company has raised more than $150 million since its first financing round in 2006.
Cheng said he will take on the role of chairman of Dazed China. “This cooperation reflects C Ventures’ investment theory of bridging the East and the West, and my belief of enriching new consumers’ daily lives through the power of creativity, culture and innovation,” he said.
“Dazed China is committed to becoming the voice of China’s youth culture, creating and curating the best content that speaks to the Millennial and Gen Z audiences in China. Dazed China will also be the platform that provides the youth group an inspiring selection of curated stories across fashion, art, music and film,” Cheng continued.
“By fostering this cooperation, we allow Dazed to synergize with Yoho!’s e-commerce and multimedia platforms for the exploration of a new market, whereas Yoho! will gain much wider access to international brands, as well as Dazed’s expertise in content curation. Furthermore, we believe Yoho!’s retail arm will grow tremendously through this collaboration, and after tapping K11’s offline resources. We believe this partnership will be beneficial for all.”
Cheng also facilitated the sale of Nowness, the digital video platform, from LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton to Modern Media, and started Modern Dazed. The latter is a new joint venture between Dazed Media and Modern Media, the Chinese publisher of Modern Weekly, City Magazine, and the Chinese editions of Instyle, Numero, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Art Newspaper.
As reported by WWD, Cheng also is said to be in talks to acquire W Magazine from Condé Nast, a deal that sources say is close to fruition.
A well-placed industry source said that Dazed and Yoho! had signed the agreement earlier this year in London, while Jefferson Hack, chief executive officer and co-founder of Dazed Media, later visited Yoho!’s Nanjing office during Shanghai Fashion Week. The details of the Chinese edition are still being nailed down as it’s in its early stages, the source added.
This will mark the second time that Dazed has attempted to launch a Chinese edition. The indie magazine publisher tried to enter the market with Huasheng Media in 2016, but ended up withdrawing the contract for an undisclosed reason. Huasheng Media is the publisher of the Chinese editions of T Magazine, Wallpaper, Nylon, Kinfolk and the New York Times Traveler.
Another London indie fashion publication, i-D, which is owned by Vice media, entered the Chinese market in 2016. It has quickly established its influence among China’s young generation, despite not having a print presence. It has 1.3 million followers on Weibo, China’s own Twitter, and more than 100,000 subscribers on WeChat.
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