Product details

Chinese bicycle-sharing titan, Ofo was leading in its home market China, where it was in a fierce and expensive battle with rivals like Mobike and Hellobike. It was one of the first 'dockless' bike-sharing firms to flood the streets of Beijing with its bright yellow bikes. Ofo's business model was a game changer in China's bike-sharing industry and it grew rapidly attracting several venture capitalists over the years. Both Ofo and Mobike had received huge influx of funds which boosted their respective market valuations to a great extent. By 2018, Ofo had secured fresh funds of USD866 million from the tech giant, Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. Along with securing considerable external funding; Ofo was expanding aggressively to newer markets like France, Singapore and the US. However, despite Ofo being well-funded, industry observers claimed that its business model was unprofitable. The bike-sharing companies had failed to foresee the impact of external factors such as poor consumer behavior, stricter regulations and lack of brand loyalty among users. Growing competition had also created a price war among players whereby industry profitability remained just an illusion. Amidst such a situation, whether Ofo would be able to overcome the industry challenges and get back to its golden days again?