(Yicai) Aug. 8 -- Chinese fashion shopping app Dewu will reportedly lay off about 5 percent of its employees to enhance its operating efficiency.

Dewu will dismiss the staffers to concentrate resources on its core businesses and projects with higher input-output ratios to deal with the increasingly competitive market environment, The Paper reported today, citing an internal letter dated yesterday.

As of the end of the first quarter, Dewu had 10,000 direct employees. Therefore, a 5-percent layoff would mean letting go of 500 people. The company has also an outsourcing team with about 10,000 members.

Founded in 2015 by China's biggest sports news community Hupu, Dewu initially provided appraisal and transaction services to sneaker collectors. Later, it branched out into fashion clothing, digital products, and other categories.

In March, Dewu had 88 million monthly active users, up 17 percent from a year earlier and ranking fourth in the Chinese e-commerce market after Taobao, Pinduoduo, and JD.Com, according to data from mobile internet analytic platform QuestMobile. The three online shopping giants had 928 million, 677 million, and 507 million MAUs, respectively, in March.

QuestMobile's ranking did not take the e-commerce business of lifestyle and short-video platforms, such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, into consideration.

Editor: Futura Costaglione