Pinduoduo: 2021 Shareholder Letter

SHANGHAI, China, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This year’s shareholder letter comes slightly earlier than usual so that we can keep everyone updated on some new developments. At our Board meeting earlier today, the Board approved my resignation as the Chairman of the Board. Lei will take over as Chairman with immediate effect while continuing in his existing role as CEO. As I step down from the Board and relinquish my executive responsibilities at Pinduoduo, the 1:10 super voting rights attached to my shares will be removed. I will further entrust the voting rights of these shares to the Board, which has been guiding Pinduoduo in the past 3 years. At the same time, I pledge these shares to another three years of lock-up; they will not be sold.I stepped down from the CEO position on July 1st last year, with the plan to fully transition the Chairman role to Lei one year from then. Two factors have prompted us to accelerate this transition.First, the intensifying, and to a certain extent, distorted competition in some area has made me realize that the traditional approach of competing through scale and efficiency has its inevitable limitations. To change this, we must take action on deeper and more fundamental issues and seek answers from core technologies and the fundamental theories that underpin them. Although Pinduoduo is still a young company with a long runway for growth, it is about the right time to explore what’s next if we want the same quality and pace of growth in 10 years. As the founder of this company, I am probably the most suitable person to take on this task by stepping out of the business and the comfort zone to embark on a journey of exploration. It would be all the better if the journey is also aligned with my personal interests.Second, the pandemic has caused dramatic changes externally, which accelerated the evolution of our operations and management team internally. Pinduoduo has transformed from a pure asset-light third-party model to becoming more asset-heavy, with new investments in warehouses, agriculture-focused logistics, and upstream sources of agriculture products. New businesses have sprouted and grown rapidly internally. Not only have these new developments stimulated Pinduoduo, they have also birthed and groomed a new generation of leaders and managers. It is time to let them shape the Pinduoduo they aspire to build.First, Pinduoduo will always be a company that puts the interests of its consumers and societal value first. The philosophy of “Benefit All”, “People First”, and “More Open” that we have practiced will be more distinctly acknowledged by the industry and the public. Pinduoduo, being a platform that serves the masses, will make every possible improvement – significant or invisible – prudently bit by bit and strive to create value for consumers and society. And because of this, it will increasingly be embraced by the public. The various obstacles it faces will slowly be broken and overcome, even if the journey may require some time and may be bumpy. Nonetheless, “Benefit All”, “People First”, and “More Open” should be the direction, as they will bring new life and hope in this new era.Next, Pinduoduo will be an imaginative and constantly innovating company. Our vision of “Costco+Disney” will be more distinctly and vividly presented to our users. Even though we are still at the very early stage of “More savings, More fun”, we have already sensed the subtle differences sparked by the multiplier effect of compounding “More savings” with “More fun” and felt the tremendous force behind this chemical reaction that makes 1+1>2. Our execution and experiences of “More savings, More fun” over the past few years have led us to believe that this vision is rewarding, fun, hopeful and worth pursuing.For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Pinduoduo Inc.