Liu Sanyong, the former head of SHEIN’s Japan division, founded CAGUUU in June 2024, a cross-border e-commerce platform specializing in home furnishings. CAGUUU, focusing on the Japanese market, aims to provide a wide range of affordable and stylish home furniture and decor products from China to Japanese consumers. The platform has already secured seed funding exceeding ten million yuan from prominent Japanese venture capital firm JAFCO and PKSHA Algorithm Fund.
Why Japan? Japan’s home furnishings market is well-established and poised for growth, with revenue reaching $21.4 billion in 2023 and a projected compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2024 to 2029. The market, although competitive, faces challenges such as fragmented supply channels and a lack of diversity in product offerings, which limits consumer choices.
CAGUUU seeks to address these gaps by leveraging China’s robust supply chain to offer high-quality, stylish products at competitive prices. The platform targets the 22-40 age demographic, a group that is tech-savvy, frequently relocates due to life changes, and has increasing purchasing power.
Building a “Supply Chain Flywheel” CAGUUU operates on a consignment model, where Chinese suppliers provide the goods while the platform handles product selection, market analysis, and sales in Japan. This approach minimizes the risks for suppliers and allows them to increase inventory turnover without the need for extensive market knowledge or marketing efforts in Japan.
CAGUUU uses small-batch purchasing and cross-border logistics to test various products’ popularity through multiple sales channels, including independent websites, e-commerce platforms, and social media. The platform’s goal is to create a “supply chain flywheel” by combining internet-based product testing with rapid inventory turnover.
Liu Sanyong emphasizes the importance of the “direct-from-origin” concept, which resonates well with Japanese consumers who value transparency in product sourcing. This strategy helps build trust in the product’s quality and justify the platform’s competitive pricing.
CAGUUU’s long-term vision extends beyond Japan. The company aims to scale its operations, increase brand recognition, and eventually become a global leader in the home furnishings industry, expanding from Asia to the world.