Franz Wu is the CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Yoho Group (友和), the largest e-commerce platform with a primary focus on consumer electronics and home appliances in Hong Kong and the first Hong Kong B2C e-commerce company listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) (Stock Code: 2347).
The story of Franz’s transition to stalwart leadership of a company that he built from scratch underscores rare resilience and serves as a motivation to succeed regardless of the odds.
Franz Wu was granted early admission to the Hong Kong University of Technology (HKUST) with his outstanding HKCEE results in 2005. However, he graduated from HKUST majoring in Economics during the turmoil of the 2008 financial crisis, and was challenged by the complexities of the labor market. The recruitment market was hit hard by the recession and graduates struggled in their job search at that time. In view of the grim labor market, Franz Wu ended up establishing his own business engaging in the trading and distribution of consumer electronics and home appliances.
In the year 2013, seeing that the Hong Kong market was lack of reliable purchase channels for the latest overseas electronic products, Franz Wu decided to tap into the enormous opportunities in the blue-ocean e-commerce market by founding Yoho Group with his partner, Kathy Tsui. They contributed an initial capital investment of HKD500,000 each, as well as their mental dedication, making Yoho Group one of the earliest e-commerce platforms in Hong Kong.
Yoho Group carries the vision of revolutionizing the Hong Kong e-commerce industry through the introduction of the online-merge-offline (OMO) business model, which featured both online and offline store operations.
With its clear business strategies and innovative DNA embodied, Yoho Group was among the initial investee companies of The Innovation and Technology Venture Fund Scheme, a fund set up by the Hong Kong government to encourage more private venture capital funding to invest in local innovation and technology start-ups. The Group also successfully raised US$28 million in several rounds over the past few years and debuted on HKEX in June 2022.
Tirelessly braving the odds of a new market turf, after nine years of rapid development, Yoho Group was grown into a household name in Hong Kong by offering seamless and enjoyable shopping experiences. The Group now has more than 900,000 registered users and over 2,290,000 monthly active users with a diverse product portfolio covering approximately 24,000 SKUs.
Today, Franz Wu’s big step to change his world has earned him a place in the corporate spotlight and this feature of HKUST’s most remarkable alumni.