China's JD.com starts British Week, seeks UK brands

One of China's largest e-commerce companies - JD.com started its "British Week" on Wednesday with a one-day conference in London's trendy tech center in Shoreditch, with the goal of attracting more British brands for its online platform.

Around 60 British fashion and home brands were represented at the conference, which featured talks from government and industry experts, including representatives from JD.com, UK Trade and Investment, the Intellectual Property Office, DHL and eCargo. Speakers offered insights into maximizing exports to China via e-commerce and advice on e-commerce logistics and protecting intellectual property.

"Chinese consumers appreciate the quality of British products but the brands are only just beginning to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities," said Shen Haoyu, CEO of JD Mall, which is the subsidiary that runs JD.com's online sales platform.

"Our British Week initiative aims to help more UK brands tap into this trend by providing them with the expertise, tools and support they need to access the China market quickly and easily. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships with brands and retailers across the UK."

China's e-commerce market is set to replace the US as the world's largest by 2018, with annual sales of $714.58 billion, according to the US firm eMarketer.

According to Chinese government statistics, China had 688 million internet users and 413 million online shoppers as of December 2015, with JD.com having 155 million active customers as of the fourth quarter last year.

Wednesday's conference received positive feedback from brand representatives. Tony Evans, managing director of Gola, a Lancashire-based British footwear brand, was happy to discover the quick delivery time made possible by selling to Chinese consumers via JD.com.

"The presentation from JD.com really shows the emphasis on good customer service in China's ecommerce field," Evans said. "We are very keen to sell in China via e-commerce due to the large size of its market and, to achieve that, we are currently focusing on learning more about how to set up the logistics arrangements."

Ailsa Wills, an account manager with shoe company French Sole, said she found the conference very helpful and was pleased to discover the platform shared her team's values.

"I was interested to hear from JD.com that they place great emphasis on combating counterfeit products on their platform, and that is something we absolutely believe in," Wills said.

French Sole has a franchise partnership in China and its partner sells the company's shoes in several shopping malls there but she said the brand is looking to raise its profile by better exploiting ecommerce opportunities.

JD.com plans to host another one-day conference in London targeting British consumer product brands. It is set for June 29.

And the company held another campaign promoting British brands in China earlier this month when it staged a weeklong promotion in cooperation with the China-Britain Business Council. That campaign included the creation of a lifestyle oriented page on the JD.com platform that featured products from 30 famous British brands and discounts for the duration of the promotion.

Brands promoted included fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith, Dyson vacuum cleaners, Wedgwood porcelain, Kent hairbrushes and Fulton umbrellas.

Stephen Phillips, chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), said the CBBC was working with JD.com on offering British brands the chance to raise their profiles.

"CBBC's partnership with one of China's biggest e-commerce sites gives British companies a real opportunity to not only benefit from the online promotion period, but also reach a larger and wider Chinese audience and build a stronger brand reputation among Chinese consumers," he said.

Contact the reporter at cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com