China Business News (Reporter Yu Jiaxin)
Recently, the news that the Hanfu online store "Girl Kayla", which has about 5.53 million fans on Taobao platform, suddenly closed its store and the company was canceled triggered the clothing wholesale industry. and consumer concerns.It is understood that before the incident, the girl Kayla had been "taking goods on credit" for a long time. The sudden closure of the store put suppliers, company employees and consumers collectively in a situation of rights protection. According to reports from some suppliers, the business model of young girl Kayla’s “get the goods first, settle the account later” is not uncommon in the field of online clothing wholesale, and sellers “run away” due to arrears.
The supplier did not know that the company had been cancelled
"Like everyone else, we are all confused." After learning that the store was suddenly closed, the girl Kai One of La's live broadcasters said on his personal social account.
The reason why this news will cause strong shock among the clothing industry and consumers is that before the store was closed, the girl Keira used to be a Taobao five-star Golden Crown store with about 5.53 million fans. Many people in the clothing industry believe that the young girl Keira has become a leading store in the field of clothing e-commerce.
Screenshot of the girl Keira’s Taobao store before it was closed. The picture shows that the store ranks TOP3 in the "Sexy Hanfu Store List". (Pictures from social media)
But it was such a store that seemed trustworthy, but it was exposed that "it was still live broadcasting on May 12, the warehouse had been emptied on May 13, and on May 14 The store has been offline from Taobao platform in the early morning of today."
Tianyancha information shows that the related enterprise of the trademark "Girl Kayla" is Guangzhou Zeng E-Commerce Co., Ltd. The company was established in 2022 and is located in Dayuan Street, Baiyun District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. Its legal representative is Li Jiezhou, the three shareholders are Li Jiezhou, Li Jiehao, and Li Jieying. But as early as March 4 this year, the company had been canceled.
Information shows that Guangzhou Zeng E-Commerce Co., Ltd., whose registered trademark is "Girl Kayla", was canceled on March 4 this year. (Picture taken from the official website of Tianyancha)
As one of the suppliers who was owed payment, Mr. Song told a reporter from China Business Daily that although the company had been canceled more than two months ago, he and other The supplier was unaware of this.
"We didn't know the specific company information of the girl Kayla before. She was a self-employed person who connected with the store, and the transfers were all between private accounts." Mr. Song said.
According to Mr. Song, he was owed nearly 100,000 yuan in payment by the girl Kayla’s store. In the supplier rights protection group with hundreds of people, some suppliers are owed about 200,000 yuan. Currently, the total amount owed to all suppliers in the group reaches more than 30 million yuan. "The specific figures are difficult to verify, because some suppliers have no hope at all and did not fill in their payment amounts."
After the incident, the relevant departments of Dayuan Street in Guangzhou City, where the girl's company is located, promptly Follow up the case. Relevant suppliers were informed that they could register at the Comprehensive Comprehensive Management Petition and Stability Maintenance Center of Dayuan Street, and the police also opened a case for investigation. According to the information provided by Mr. Song, three shareholders of the girl Kayla were controlled by the police on May 15. On May 16, Dayuan Street held a coordination meeting for the supplier representatives of the girl Kayla. At the meeting, it was stated that Li Jiezhou was temporarily released and was "going out to raise money to repay the supplier." In this regard, another supplier involved in the Shahe clothing wholesale stall also confirmed this situation to reporters.
On May 15, the local public security department launched an investigation into the incident of the girl Kayla, and the local streets held a coordination meeting the next day. (The picture comes from the interviewee’s personal social account)
Both employees and consumers are affected
ExceptIn addition to suppliers, according to the employee of the girl Kayla's store, they did not know about the situation of "the boss ran away" in advance.
The above-mentioned live broadcaster told a reporter from China Business Daily that what he knew had been posted on his personal social account. According to the account content, the employee only learned of the changes in the company through live broadcast barrage reminders. "At first I thought it was my colleagues who were setting the pace, but after thinking about it I felt something was wrong, so I started sending messages to the operation, but I couldn't find the contact person, so I frantically sent messages and made phone calls, wondering whether to download the broadcast." After the police arrived, The employee was also stunned.
An employee of the young girl Kayla’s live broadcast said that she had no knowledge of her boss’s “escape”. (Picture taken from the employee’s social account)
“Will you notify us in advance if your boss runs away? It’s normal for us at work not to see our boss. Do we have to ask where the boss went today and why he didn’t come? Are you at work?" the above-mentioned employee responded in the comment area of the content.
In addition, the live broadcaster also said that the company had paid last month’s salary to employees, but before receiving this month’s salary, they were “unemployed”.
On the other hand, the closure of the girl Keira’s store has also had a greater impact on relevant consumers.
Consumer Tangyuan (pseudonym) said that this time he purchased two pieces of clothing from the girl Kayla’s store. After learning that the store was closed, he immediately applied for a refund and returned the goods, and consulted the official Customer service, but the customer service asked him to continue waiting. It wasn't until the next day that I received a refund for one of the clothes, and the other one showed "insufficient balance in the seller's account".
Another consumer told reporters that he had actually noticed something "wrong" with the store a few days before the incident, but did not raise any suspicion. The consumer said that a few days before the incident, he applied for a return and refund at the girl Kayla's store. The express delivery he sent showed that the seller had signed for it, but the next day he received a reminder from the store that the refund was refused.
It is understood that the clothing styles sold in the girl Keira’s store are mainly sexy and sweet, and one of its features is its “friendly” price. Some consumers said that they started buying clothes in this store a long time ago. The price of a cotton coat in winter is less than 90 yuan, and the style and quality are pretty good. "With such a low price, I thought the boss was doing charity."
The above-mentioned live broadcasterGong has also stated in the live broadcast room many times that his clothes are "sold at a loss".
In response to issues related to the girl Kayla’s store, Taobao’s official customer service said: “The platform has paid attention to the relevant risks and has controlled the seller’s account. If there are order rights protection issues, the platform will actively deal with them.” May 15 , Taobao Clothing's official public account stated that for the follow-up services of the girl Kayla's store, consumers can initiate "refund only" for orders that have been placed but not shipped; for orders that have been shipped but have not been confirmed, consumers can You can choose "refund only" or confirm receipt; for orders with confirmed receipt, consumers can also initiate a refund if they encounter problems, and the after-sales service will be fully guaranteed by the platform.
On May 15, Taobao Clothing responded to the store’s follow-up questions. (Picture taken from Taobao Apparel’s official public account)
Similar cases are not new in the industry
A total of hundreds of suppliers are owed tens of millions in arrears With a payment of RMB 10,000, why do no suppliers have any doubts about this?
Mr. Song told reporters that the young girl Keira’s method of “getting goods on credit” is not an exception in the industry, and has even become a default rule. Due to the high return rate of Hanfu online stores, online stores such as Girls' Kayla can only maintain operations through loss-making sales. On the supplier side, there are a lot of situations where the goods are purchased first and the accounts are settled later.
Another supplier who was owed money, Mr. Lin, said that he was willing to cooperate with the girl Kayla mainly because the store had many fans, high popularity and good sales. In addition to the girl Kaila, Mr. Lin’s stall also has cooperative relationships with several other five-star Golden Crown stores, and most of these stores use the “account on credit” method. As of now, many stores have not even settled the payment for goods in April this year. "Generally, the payment for April can only be settled at the end of May."
"In fact, it is not impossible to pay and deliver goods with one hand, but some online clothing stores lack funds at the beginning and can only take credit first, otherwise they will not be able to do business. Private business is basically a matter of conscience. Debt is the same as lending money to a friend," Mr. Song said.
Mr. Song also said that in the clothing wholesale industry, shops "run away with money" happens almost every year. "A small run every year, a big run every two years." He alone has encountered many cases.Many times, including stores larger than the girl Kayla's, the arrears for goods "basically have not been recovered."
It is reported that Li Jiezhou, the legal representative of the company where the girl Keira belongs, has expressed his position in the supplier rights protection group. Li Jiezhou said that he did not "take away the money and run away". The closure of the online store was due to problems with the original business model and tight capital flow. Next, he promised to sort out all the claims and debts as soon as possible and restart the girl Keira. However, according to Mr. Song’s feedback, Li Jiezhou has not provided a specific repayment plan so far.
Li Jiezhou, the legal representative of the company to which the girl Kaila belongs, responded to the incident of "taking the money and running away". (Pictures from social media)
For similar cases in which suppliers are owed payment, some legal experts suggest that if the buyer and seller can sign written contracts, IOUs, statements, confirmation letters and other written materials, they must Must be signed promptly. Even if there is no written contract, the sales list, invoice and payment voucher should be properly kept.
In addition, during the transaction process, the seller should also verify and confirm the buyer’s true situation in detail. For buyers who are in arrears with payment or even cannot be contacted, sellers should sue within three years, otherwise they will lose the right to win the lawsuit due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
