Have you got your deposit back? The founder of ofo sells coffee in the United States
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In 2023, are you still waiting for the refund of the deposit for the ofo small yellow car?
Recently, some foreign media reported that Dai Wei, the founder of ofo, has started a new business in the United States on the other side of the ocean, selling the American version of “Luckin Coffee”.
With a valuation of 280 million, Dai Wei “comes back”?
The coffee brand called About Time Coffee opened stores in four prime locations in New York one after another as early as February last year, and quickly became popular on TikTok and Instagram.
About Time CEO Marian Chen claimed in an interview that his brand of coffee tasted better but was cheaper than Starbucks. For example, its signature coffee “boba coffee” is priced at $4, while the average price of Starbucks in the United States is $5.
According to foreign media reports, the brand has adopted a marketing strategy similar to Luckin Coffee, that is, processing orders and payments through mobile applications, while collecting customer data to provide customized discounts and coupons. A signboard placed in front of one of its stores shows that consumers can get free coffee by placing an order online: “We invite the first five cups.”
Screenshot from About Time official website.
Zhongxin Finance noticed that on the yelp platform, some consumers commented: “For New York, this price is great.” “It’s definitely a grab-and-go atmosphere, because there is no real place to sit, And the coffee is sealed in the container, which really makes it easy to transport.”
Although Dai Wei is not involved in the day-to-day operations of About Time, Marian Chen said that Dai Wei helped form the About Time team and arranged meetings between brands and investors. She mentioned that Dai Wei holds a minority stake in the company.
According to public information, as of now, About Time has raised more than 10 million US dollars at a valuation of 40 million US dollars (about 280 million yuan), and the investment institutions behind it include IDG Capital, Zhen Fund and Wei Lie Capital. It is worth mentioning that Wei Lie Capital is also one of the investors of ofo’s small yellow car.
The unrefunded deposit for the little yellow car: Is there still a show?
“Don’t evade, and be responsible for every penny owed.” On December 19, 2018, Dai Wei stated in ofo’s internal letter.
However, over the past five years, more than ten million users have still not waited for the deposit to be refunded.
Previously, ofo had launched functions such as refunding deposits for friends, rewarding friends for ordering, recharging and refunding deposits, etc., in an attempt to “disguise” the refund of deposits, but users did not buy it. At the beginning of this year, it was revealed that the WeChat applet and APP of ofo Xiaohuangche could no longer log in normally, and the official customer phone number could no longer be connected. Some netizens who did not log out of the APP found that the deposit in the account was no longer displayed.
“From college students to office workers, ofo simply doesn’t plan to refund money?” Regarding the news of Dai Wei’s re-starting business, many netizens said: “The deposit owed to me will be paid back first.” “Take our deposit to start a business? “
What more netizens are wondering is, how did Dai Wei, who was burdened with 40 restrictions on consumption, go overseas to start a business?
Zhao Zhanping, a lawyer from Beijing Yunjia Law Firm, told Zhongxin Finance and Economics that restricting consumption only means that you cannot buy air tickets, high-speed rail tickets, and sleeper tickets for ordinary trains, but those who are “restricted” can still choose to travel in other ways. Such as cars etc.
“Even if Dai Wei is ‘height restricted’, it does not mean that he cannot travel between China and the United States to start a business, because he still has a way to go to the United States, such as taking a car to Shenzhen, and then going to Hong Kong to fly to the United States.”
As for whether Dai Wei should be responsible for the unrefunded deposit of ofo, Zhao Zhanping said that the unrefunded deposit of ofo belongs to the company’s debt, not the personal debt of the legal representative.
“The reason why the legal representative is ‘restricted’ is because the company has debts and has not fulfilled the corresponding performance obligations after being judged by the court. Therefore, the consumption restriction measures taken against the legal representative and the company do not represent the company’s debts. It has been transformed into the personal debt of the legal representative,” he said.
According to Tianyan Check, there are currently 12 companies under Dai Wei’s name, 7 of which are in a surviving state, of which 5 are affiliated companies of ofo. In addition, Dai Wei also holds 2.12% of the shares in Ningbo Weilie Investment Management Partnership (Limited Partnership).
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