Rohan Mathawan
Pinduoduo, China’s largest agriculture platform, said it was time to promote more young people to leadership positions as its number of active customers reached a record 867.3 million.
Pinduoduo, which turned six in October, also said it was increasing its focus on research and development (R&D) and will step up investment in agricultural technology. Revenue for the three months ended September rose 51% from a year earlier, the company reported on Friday.
The push to place younger talent in positions of responsibility comes as Pinduoduo seeks to contribute more to society.
Events since the beginning of last year, including COVID-19 related disruptions and adverse weather in Henan and Shanxi, have accelerated the “maturity and sense of servanthood” among many of the younger team members, according to Pinduoduo Chairman and CEO Chen Lei. Not only do they bring creativity and vigor to their jobs, but many have also exceeded expectations with their sound judgment and execution when faced with challenges, he said.
“Despite their age, many of them have been with the company for a number of years and have matured on the job,” Chen said on a conference call. “You will see more of them taking on critical roles in the next six to 12 months as we continue to create opportunities for them to step up.”
Giving a recap of Pinduoduo’s journey, Chen noted that over the past six years, the company has provided consumers across China with more choices of agricultural produce at better prices. The platform now connects 16 million farmers to 867.3 million consumers nationwide, acting as the portal to the digital economy for many rural communities.
“We hope Pinduoduo will be the go-to platform for quality agricultural products for farmers and consumers,” Chen said. “We look forward to leveraging our platform to help more farmers, in order to improve their livelihoods and benefit their communities.”
Pinduoduo will maintain its “zero commission” policy on all agricultural products and expand its course offerings to train more farmers on e-commerce and store operations. At the same time, the company will continue to improve consumer awareness of quality agricultural products and help farmers build more recognition with consumers.
The company created a “10 Billion Agriculture Initiative” to address critical needs in the agriculture and rural sectors. The initiative was approved by shareholders at the end of September.