On May 29, the “Zhufaner Super Home Mall” in Beijing’s Shilihe was packed with nearly 100 creditors—homeowners, suppliers, and construction foremen—surrounding CEO Liu Xianran. The 90s-born Tsinghua graduate, with graying temples, repeatedly apologized: “Our company’s cash flow has collapsed; there’s no money in the account.”
Founded in October 2015 by Tsinghua alumni Liu Xianran and Zeng Mohan, Zhufaner started as a rental home renovation service for young people, expanding to media content, community e-commerce, and offline retail. Over a decade, it secured 7 rounds of funding exceeding 300 million yuan from investors like Jinshajiang Venture Capital and Innovation Works.
Zhu Xiaohu of Jinshajiang once saw Liu and Zhufaner as disruptors in China’s home decoration industry; Wan Xiao of Qicheng Capital believed it could become China’s Home Depot. But on May 28, 2025, the crisis exploded: projects halted, workers stopped, suppliers cut off goods, and employees were dismissed on May 29.
During negotiations, foremen proposed: “If there’s no money to repay debts, can we take the appliances in the model rooms?” Liu nodded silently. As of June 4, he said they were striving to resume work on over 800 construction sites in Beijing and Shanghai, but no new funding had arrived. Employees revealed he had lived in the mall for days and surrendered his passport to the police.
Debtors allege Zhufaner owes over 100 million yuan, including 20 million to foremen. Some homeowners took out 800,000-yuan renovation loans through Zhufaner, which must still be repaid despite halted projects.
The Million-Dollar Question: Where Did the Money Go?
Liu attributes the collapse to low-margin business models: “After the ‘National Subsidy’ policy, our home group-buying model became unviable.”
Zhufaner’s group-buying model attracted users through decoration content, then sourced discounted products from suppliers. “We used to be 10-15% cheaper than Tmall and JD, but after the October 2024 ‘National Subsidy,’ major platforms offered 25-30% discounts, destroying our model. Cash flow went from tens of millions monthly to negative, costing us 100 million yuan in six months.”
He added that offline stores had soaring costs: “Beijing’s store needed 24 million yuan monthly revenue to break even, with 30% gross margin. But 1 million went to rent, 3-4 million to salaries, and 2-3 million to marketing.”
Creditors reject this explanation. “The ‘National Subsidy’ started in October 2024. As a Tsinghua graduate, Liu should have foreseen the crisis earlier,” said one creditor. They believe the company had renovation prepayments, 20,000-yuan deposits from each foreman, and supplier debts to tide over difficulties. “He blames external factors without acknowledging internal mistakes.”
Two Previous Cash Crunches
This isn’t Zhufaner’s first brush with death. Before founding Zhufaner, Liu started an online TOEFL speaking tutoring service in college, later acquired by Meten English.
When launching Zhufaner, Liu aimed for the massive home decoration market: “The industry had many pain points and was a long-term competition track.” But funding was tight from the start. In January 2016, with cash near zero after paying staff, Liu secured three investment term sheets just in time.
Another crisis struck in 2020 during the pandemic, with stores closed and a housing estate access blocked. Liu turned to community group-buying, which unexpectedly drove annual revenue over 100 million yuan. Ironically, the same group purchase business later caused the collapse.
The Failed Dream of Revolutionizing Decoration
Zhufaner initially focused on budget rentals, posting renovation cases on social media to attract customers. By 2022, it had four core businesses: offline decoration, media content, e-commerce group-buying, and offline retail.
In June 2021, it raised 200 million yuan in Series B funding, with Zhu Xiaohu predicting it would disrupt the industry. Inspired, Liu opened the 20,000-square-meter “Zhufaner Super Home Mall” in March 2022, adjacent to Easyhome. At the time, he claimed low win the customer costs, zero inventory, and positive cash flow from upfront payments.
But reality disappointed. Now, with bankruptcy looming, Liu seeks new funding while creditors occupy model rooms, waiting for a resolution to this once-promising startup’s tragic fall.
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