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Fifth “Country Mall” Responds to Strong Chinese Demand for U.S. Imports
JD.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:JD), China’s largest online direct sales company, today announced the launch of its U.S. Mall, a new channel on the company’s JD Worldwide cross-border platform dedicated exclusively to offering authentic imported U.S. products for sale to its customers in China.
Some of the recently signed American brands that JD.com features include Converse, Samsonite, Ocean Spray and several major apparel labels that are part of the Global Brands Group (SEHK:787), including Nautica Kids and Jeep apparel. In addition, JD.com announced today that it will feature authentic products from Taylor Swift, including a line of clothes that the artist is designing exclusively for JD.com customers.
JD.com also announced a partnership with DHL Global Forwarding to help American brands ensure that their products reach Chinese consumers more quickly and easily. Through this partnership, DHL is the preferred logistics service provider for moving American products ordered on JD.com’s U.S. Mall to and across China.
The launch event, hosted by JD.com founder and CEO Richard Liu, includes several hundred representatives from major U.S. brands.
“As American companies increasingly understand our core advantages of zero tolerance towards counterfeits and unparalleled same-day delivery capabilities, we are gaining excellent momentum attracting U.S. brands to our site,” said Mr. Liu. “Chinese consumers appreciate that the United States is a global leader in the areas of product reputation, quality, reliability and variety of goods, and American companies are clearly benefiting from this unprecedented market opportunity.
“With JD.com’s U.S. Mall up and running, and great partners like Global Brands on board, Chinese consumers have an ever-growing range of new choices of American products, including Nautica Kids, Converse and Taylor Swift’s branded fashion line. We couldn’t be happier to be working with DHL, a brand synonymous with superior international logistics, to help get these products into the hands of Chinese consumers with the speed and reliability our customers have come to expect.”
“With increasing demand for ‘Made in America’ products, Chinese consumers are buying American products from JD.com at an exponential rate, with exports from the U.S. into China in 2014 totaling over $123 billion,” said Alfred Goh, Senior Vice President & Global Head, Fast Growing Enterprises, DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation. “With our full suite of logistics solutions, DHL is well positioned to provide Chinese consumers with easy access to U.S.-made products, while improving overall supply chain efficiency for the retailers. All consumers globally expect their orders to arrive promptly and our extensive network and reliability will help JD.com extend quality service to its customers.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with JD.com, the leading platform for upwardly mobile Chinese consumers seeking quality American brands and products,” said Bruce Rockowitz, CEO and Vice Chairman of Global Brands Group Holding Limited. “Online shopping has become an increasingly important trend in the Chinese market. Through our strategic partnership with JD.com, we look forward to making even more leading American brands available through this innovative platform.”
At a Beijing event earlier this year with U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus, the company launched a trial offering of fresh produce including Boston lobster, California wines and fruit from the U.S., and food products from brands including Ocean Spray, Ghirardelli, Silk, Starbucks, Organic Valley, Mars, Quaker, Dead Guy Ale, Sun-Maid and Pringles, among dozens of others. The new U.S. Mall builds on the success of these efforts and brings a whole new range of U.S. products to the Chinese market in categories including apparel, cosmetics, electronics and baby products, among many others.
For global suppliers, JD offers a simplified handling process for cross-border transactions, including recommendations on operational and international logistics partners that businesses can use to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of selling through the JD Worldwide platform. As global companies look to reach the rapidly growing Chinese market without the typical logistical challenges of doing business there, the JD Worldwide platform provides an easy entry point without a huge time investment.
The launch of the U.S. Mall marks the company’s fifth sales channel dedicated to coveted national products, with others to follow based on customer demand in China. Online malls announced so far in 2015 cover Australia, France, Japan and Korea.
The company will hold an additional business session for its partners later this week in the Los Angeles area.
