Chinese sharing startup quickly loses 300,000 umbrellas

Sharing economy experiment turns into a generous giveaway

13 other umbrella sharing companies have already launched in China (EPA)

A Chinese umbrella sharing startup has taken a hit after most of its 300,000 umbrellas went missing within months of launching.

Sharing E Umbrella, based in Shenzhen, reportedly launched in April this year with a ¥10m (£1.1m) investment. It subsequently rolled out to 11 Chinese cities including Shanghai and Nanjing.

According several news sites, the rental scheme was based on customers making an initial deposit equivalent to just over £2, after which they would pay 6p for every half hour of use.

Problems seem to have stemmed from the portability of the umbrellas.

“Umbrellas are different from bicycles,” CEO Zhao Shuping told the South China Morning Post. “Bikes can be parked anywhere, but with an umbrella you need railings or a fence to hang it on.”

He said that taking the umbrellas home was probably “best”, as it meant that at least they would be “safe”. The only problem is that customers appear to have failed to bring them back.

China’s burgeoning sharing economy has seen basketballs and phone chargers join a competitive field of bike rental schemes.

According to Chinese news site SixthTone, 13 other umbrella sharing companies have already launched in China, with the first arriving in Hong Kong back in 2014.

Mr Zhao reportedly plans to persevere with the business model. Although the umbrellas cost £6.80 to replace, he hopes to relaunch with another 30 million by the end of the year.

It seems success will depend on the conscience of his customers as much as the weather forecast.