(Yicai Global) June 4 -- Shares in Secoo Holding, a Chinese retailer that dominates Asia’s luxury goods and services market, have soared almost 53 percent after Qudian pledged to become its largest shareholder for USD100 million.

Secoo stock [NASDAQ:SECO] closed at USD3.28 yesterday, while Qudian shares [NYSE:QD] jumped 5.44 percent to USD1.55.

Xiamen province-based Qudian will become Secoo’s largest shareholder by purchasing 28.9 percent of its equity, the pair said in a statement yesterday. They will also join hands in the luxury e-commerce sector, which Qudian moved into in March when it launched its own e-tail platform Wanlimu.

"This strategic partnership leverages both companies' resources, capabilities, industry expertise and market presence, while fostering collaboration in supply chain management, user acquisition and retention, quality appraisals, post-sales services, and financing solutions," said Min Luo, Qudian’s founder and chairman.

Founded in 2008, Beijing-based Secoo commands a 25.3 percent share of Asia’s luxury products and services market. It sells a broad range of products from the likes of Miumiu, Louis Vuitton, and Ralph Lauren, and had 36.5 million users as of the end of

April, when its fiscal year ended. It made CNY161.7 million (USD22.7 million), up 3.9 percent, as revenue soared 27.5 percent to CNY6.9 billion (USD964 million) in the year ended April 30.

Qudian was set up in 2014 and had over 80 million users by the end of March, 9.5 percent more than a year earlier. It lost CNY486.5 million in the first quarter as revenue fell by more than half to CNY958 million.

Editor: James Boynton