JD.com commits to selling £2 billion of UK products to Chinese consumers
Chinese retail giant JD.com has announced plans to sell £2 billion of UK goods to Chinese consumers in the next two to three years.
The agreement was made between JD.com and the British Government’s Department of International Trade.
Theresa May, who is on her first official state visit to China since becoming UK Prime Minister, met with JD chairman and chief executive Richard Liu today at the residence of the British Ambassador to China. Among the topics they discussed were JD’s plans to help more UK brands reach its 266 million customers.
Richard Burn, director-general of DIT China, said: “Many British brands recognise the huge potential of China’s enormous ecommerce market. JD truly understands what Chinese consumers want and has the resources to help British brands ensure success in the region. We’re looking forward to working with JD to bring more British brands to China in the future.”
JD.com said the number of UK brands on JD has doubled over the last two years, with sales in 2017 growing 100% year-on-year. Brands such as Dyson, Clarks, Johnnie Walker and Lipton are among the most popular with JD consumers.
To help boost sales of British items, JD will launch special campaigns for seasonal products and undertake other activities to give brands more opportunities to reach Chinese consumers. The company will kick off with a 24-hour “Celebrate Britain” sales promotion for UK products this April to introduce the “Best of Britain” to Chinese customers.
“We’re pleased to be working with DIT to make it easier and more convenient for British brands to enter the Chinese market,” said Winston Cheng, president of international at JD.com. He added: “We’ve seen rapid growth in demand for British products from our consumers in recent years, and will look to showcase the ‘Best of Britain’ on our platform even more through this agreement.”
Last June, JD.com partnered with the UK online fashion platform Farfetch to bring more niche brands from around the world to Chinese consumers. In addition, the company sponsored shows at London Fashion Week last autumn and also partnered with the British Fashion Council /Vogue Designer Fashion Fund to help the BFC deepen its engagement with the Chinese market.
