ofo is apparently in trouble.
Warehouse sale
Bicycles belonging to the bike-sharing company are apparently going to be sold off in a warehouse sale.
This is allegedly being done to downsize its operation in Singapore, a source with knowledge of the matter told TechNode, a tech news site from China where ofo first started operating.
The ofo bikes being let go on sale are apparently brand new.
They are currently residing at a Singaporean warehouse that is owned by local logistics service provider Bok Seng Group, according to a poster shared by the source.
The TechNode team even visited the venue and found stacks of unpacked parcels with the ofo logo on them.
The sale is apparently going to happen from June 15 to 17, from 10am to 6pm at 5 Tuas Ave 3 S639405.
This address belongs to Bok Seng Logistics.
S$50 for new ofo bicycle
The poster shows that bikes are priced from S$50 (RMB240).
A S$50 price tag for a brand new ofo bicycle represents at least a 30 percent discount compared with the original price of S$70 (RMB335) per bike.
Based on available data tabulated by TechNode, Shanghai Phoenix, a bike maker partner of ofo, has recorded revenue of S$124 million (RMB596.72 million) in 2017 by shipping 1.78 million bikes to ofo.
This works out to RMB335 costs per ofo bike.
ofo responds
The bike rental company has since responded to media queries.
As per TechNode, ofo said this arrangement of selling off new ofo bicycles was made by a local freight and logistics partners as a result of ofo’s failure to pay for relevant freight and logistic fees.
An ofo spokesperson was quoted in TechNode as saying the move is unfair though:
“Ofo has an ongoing business arrangement with a freight forward/logistics provider in Singapore and ofo has agreed to pay relevant fees for services. Ofo considers the actions taken by the service provider to be unduly aggressive given ofo’s ongoing dialogue with the relevant service provider. Ofo is considering its legal options but at the same time working in good faith to avoid a sale of ofo property. In ofo’s view, such a sale is being unreasonably pursued to gain leverage in completing ongoing commercial discussions. ofo looks forward to resolving the matter out of court but is reserving all of its rights in the meantime.”
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The TechNode piece also claimed ofo has slashed nearly half of its 60-member team in Singapore -- based on a tip-off.
However, the company did not directly reply to queries on this matter.
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