Recently, Renrenzu, the platform under Guangzhou Yanqu Information Technology Co., Ltd., has submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), with Shenwan Hongyuan Hong Kong serving as the sole sponsor. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the company is China's largest online rental consumption service platform in terms of gross transaction value (GTV) in 2024, holding a market share of approximately 27.5%. As a major promoter of the "rent instead of buy" new consumption model, this application has drawn market attention to the rapidly growing rental consumption track.

Business Model: Asset-Light Platform Defines a New Format for Rental Consumption

Renrenzu's core positioning is a full-process online rental consumption service platform that efficiently connects merchants and users. Its business model is essentially different from the "ownership transaction" of traditional e-commerce, aiming to provide a more flexible and low-threshold new consumption experience centered on "right of use".

The company is a pioneer and definer of this track. Launched in 2016, the platform has grown into a leader in China's rental consumption services. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, in terms of 2024 GTV, the company's market share of 27.5% is a clear lead, more than twice that of the second-ranked player. The company also took the lead in formulating the first national recommended standard for this field, deeply participating in the construction of industry norms.

It operates a typical asset-light platform model without holding inventory itself. As of September 30, 2025, the platform has gathered more than 20,000 registered merchants, offering a rich range of categories such as mobile phones, computers, photographic equipment, and health physiotherapy products. The platform generates revenue by charging transaction commissions, providing SaaS services (such as store management and data analysis tools) and value-added services (such as centralized procurement and logistics support).

This model has successfully built a strong two-sided network effect. The platform connects a huge number of users and merchants: as of September 30, 2025, it had 61.2 million registered users, 1.7 million paying users in the same period, and over 13,000 daily transaction orders. A high active merchant retention rate of 86.5% reflects the platform's stickiness and value, forming a positive cycle of mutual promotion between supply and demand, and also supporting its clear profit model—revenue is mainly derived from commissions for online transaction services, with gross profit margin remaining steadily above 80% during the reporting period.

Financial Performance: High Growth and High Profitability Go Hand in Hand, Strategic Investment Drives Expansion

The financial data clearly presents the image of an internet platform in a period of rapid growth that has achieved considerable profitability.

The company's revenue surged 43.2% from RMB 294 million in 2023 to RMB 421 million in 2024. Revenue in the first nine months of 2025 reached RMB 356 million, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%. Growth is mainly driven by the rise in platform-facilitated GTV, which hit RMB 7.5 billion in 2024.

Amid rapid growth, the company has demonstrated excellent profitability. Its gross profit margin has long remained above 80% and is on an upward trend. Net profit performance is strong, standing at RMB 80 million, RMB 119 million and RMB 89 million in 2023, 2024 and the first nine months of 2025 respectively, with net profit margin maintaining above 25%.

Behind this performance is its clear expense investment structure. Sales and marketing expenses are the largest expense item, growing faster than revenue and accounting for 42.5% of revenue in the first nine months of 2025. This reflects that the company is actively investing in the market to acquire users, expand market share and conduct market education, which is its strategic focus at this stage. At the same time, the proportion of R&D expenses remains relatively stable (about 7%), continuously supporting its platform technology iteration and SaaS service capabilities.

Financing and Market Prospects: Sustained Capital Support, Waiting for the Outbreak of a Hundred-Billion Blue Ocean

Since its establishment, Renrenzu has secured multiple rounds of financing, and the capital's long-term optimism about the rental consumption track underpins its development.

The company's financing journey started in 2018, with Shanghai Cloud Link, a subsidiary of Ant Group, investing RMB 7.5 million in the Series A round. It then completed the Series B round in 2020 with EGPHK investing US$5 million. The 2023 Series C round attracted institutions such as Guangzhou Tianhe and Zhuhai Liujin. The latest Series D round was completed in 2025, with institutions including ACIF investing US$15 million. Previous rounds of financing have provided key capital support for the platform's investment in merchant expansion, technological R&D and marketing. After multiple rounds of financing and equity transfers, the company has formed a diversified shareholder structure consisting of the founder team, early investment institutions and subsequent financial investors. The introduction of international funds in the Series D round also shows capital's attention to this new consumption model.

More importantly, the Chinese rental consumption industry where the company operates is ushering in explosive growth. Driven by the transformation of consumption concepts, the encouragement of green circular economy policies and digitalization, the industry is moving from the embryonic stage to rapid expansion. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the industry's GTV is expected to surge from RMB 27.3 billion in 2024 to RMB 292.4 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.5%. Among them, the rental penetration rate of core categories such as consumer electronics is expected to rise significantly from 1% to 5.6%. In addition, national policy support for the circular economy and product upgrading, as well as the development of technology and industry infrastructure, have further boosted the growth of the rental consumption market. The market ceiling is far from being reached, providing huge growth space for the platform that has established a leading position.

NewTimeSpace Disclaimer: All content herein is the original work of NewTimeSpace. Any reproduction, reprinting, or use of this content in any other manner must clearly indicate the source as "NewTimeSpace". NewTimeSpace and its authorized third-party information providers strive to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data, but do not guarantee the absolute correctness thereof. This content is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice. All transaction risks shall be borne by the user.