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The umbrella-sharing service theoretically operates by having users pay a $2.79 deposit along with a 7-cent fee for each half hour of use. It was unclear how users were meant to return the umbrellas, however, costing the company $8.82 for each umbrella that went unreturned.
Zhao, who said his business model was inspired by bike sharing services in China, said he has not given up on the umbrella rental scheme. He said the process is being retooled and he expects to expand the business to 30 million umbrellas made available at locations across China by the end of the year.