Retail in Asia

In Trends

JD.com strengthens Asian reach with new HK office, cross-border logistics partnership

JD.com, Inc., China’s largest online direct sales company, on Thursday announced the opening of an office in Hong Kong and the signing of a strategic agreement with COSCO Logistics to address growing customer demand for imported goods from leading brands from Asia and around the world. The company also announced that Sa Sa, Asia’s leading cosmetics retailer, will launch a flagship store on JD Worldwide.

The strategic initiatives announced on Thursday are intended to enhance engagement with brands and retailers across Asia, and to make it easier and quicker for international merchants to ship directly to consumers in China. Leveraging JD’s local market presence and warehousing capabilities, merchants with a presence in Hong Kong will be able to manage sales, warehousing, shipping and fulfilment to customers in Mainland China directly from Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong office will enable JD.com to better engage with brands and retailers across Asia who are looking to tap JD.com’s 118 million active users in Mainland China. JD.com will build a team in Hong Kong that will focus on targeting and attracting new retail partners from around the region, and on engaging with the company’s other stakeholders in Asia.

The ecommerce giant on Thursday also signed a memorandum of understanding with COSCO Logistics, a leading logistics provider, to launch a strategic partnership under which COSCO Logistics will provide JD.com with warehousing, customs clearance and shipping services from Hong Kong to Mainland China. The cooperation will help JD.com’s brand partners in the region get their products to customers more quickly.

COSCO Logistics will operate a dedicated Hong Kong-based warehousing facility for JD.com, which will be fully integrated with JD.com’s industry leading Warehouse Management System.

COSCO Logistics will also manage the cross-border shipping process, including customs clearance, from the Hong Kong warehouse to JD.com’s fulfilment facilities in Mainland China, and will cater to both direct sales and third-party merchants. The partnership is expected to reduce average shipping times from Hong Kong to customers in Mainland China by three to four days.
"This partnership gives our customers easy access to more of the best Asian and international products, and allows more regional and global retailers to target our unrivalled base of Chinese consumers directly from Hong Kong," said Carol Fung, Vice President of JD.com and President of JD Mall’s FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) business unit. "COSCO Logistics is one of the most skilled and experienced providers of cross-border logistics services in Asia, and is a natural partner for JD.com as we expand our ability to service our partners across Asia."

As part of its efforts in the city, JD.com on Thursday also announced that Sa Sa, a leading cosmetics retailing group in Asia and ecommerce provider, will launch a flagship store on JD Worldwide. The store will feature the most extensive selection of Sa Sa’s range of international cosmetics brands and products available online in China. It will be synchronized with Sa Sa’s global ecommerce portal, Sasa.com, to ensure that JD.com’s customers have easy and immediate access to the full range of products available on Sa Sa’s global site.

"Sa Sa has been dedicated to continuously enhancing customers’ shopping experience and we established Sasa.com in 2000 to offer round-the-clock e-tailing with a comprehensive range of products," said Guy Look, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Sa Sa. "We’re excited to partner with JD.com and to give Chinese consumers more extensive access than ever before to Sa Sa’s huge selection of globally renowned cosmetics brands. JD.com has an unmatched reputation for guaranteeing quality, convenience, and service, and we’re looking forward to working with them to deliver a premium online shopping experience to consumers throughout China."