BEIJING, May 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:JD), China's largest online direct sales company, today announced an expanded partnership with Penfolds, one of Australia’s most iconic wine brands. As part of this enhanced cooperation, JD.com will become the first to sell the new Penfolds Max’s wine range online in China. In addition, JD.com continues to expand its already extensive offering of wine to meet China’s surging demand.
Launched five years ago, JD.com’s wine business has become one of the fastest growing channels for Chinese consumers to purchase wine. The company sold 22 million bottles of wine in 2015, more than double that of 2014.
Through its direct sales model, JD.com sells wine by sourcing directly from 12 top wine producing countries including France, Australia, Chile, Spain, Italy and the US. In addition to ensuring authenticity, the model enables the company to offer its famous same- and next-day delivery service covering a population of more than 600 million.
JD.com also offers brands a marketplace model option, and will soon launch wine on JD Worldwide, its cross-border ecommerce platform, to enable Chinese consumers to order wine directly from overseas wineries.
“Chinese consumers have developed an increasingly sophisticated palate for wine, and we are continuously expanding our offerings with world-class brands like Penfolds to meet this demand,” said Carol Fung, President of JD.com’s Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Business Unit. “Penfolds has long been one of the top selling brands on JD.com, and this announcement further strengthens that relationship and gives our customers access to an even wider selection of their wines.”
China is now Australia’s second largest market by value for wine after the US, with exports up 64 percent for the 12 months ending March 31, 2016, according to Wine Australia. Penfolds selected China as the first market outside of Australia to sell its new Max’s wine collection, a tribute range honoring its legendary former chief winemaker Max Schubert. The Max’s Shiraz Cabernet is now available for sale on JD.com, the first ecommerce site in China to offer it.
Penfolds Max’s is a testament to the Penfolds art of multi-regional blending and personifies the style Max Schubert championed more than half a century ago. The collection of wines is charming in character, polished and carries an evenness and gloss. They are contemporary, expressive and vibrant upon release.
“Chinese consumers are increasingly appreciative of the high-quality of our Australian wines, and our partnership with JD.com has been a tremendous channel for us to facilitate the market opportunities,” said Peter Dixon, General Manager, North Asia, for Penfolds brand owner Treasury Wine Estates. "As one of the country’s most trusted online platform for authentic wines, JD.com can provide the high-quality user base, logistic infrastructure and online experience to help us succeed in China.”
“I am pleased to support the deepening cooperation between JD.com and Penfolds,” said Australia’s Ambassador to China, Jan Adams PSM. “JD.com is a leading e-tailer in China and Penfolds represents the excellence of Australian winemaking. Their partnership will pave the way for many other leading Australian wine brands, as well as other quality Australian products, to take advantage of China’s booming ecommerce market.”
(Note: International wine brands interested in reaching JD.com's 155 million-plus customers can contact the company at zhaodabin@jd.com)
About JD.com, Inc.
JD.com, Inc. is China’s leading online direct sales company and the country’s largest Internet company by revenue. The company strives to offer consumers the best online shopping experience. Through its content-rich and user-friendly website jd.com and mobile applications, JD.com offers a wide selection of authentic products at competitive prices and delivers products in a speedy and reliable manner. The company believes it has the largest fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China. JD.com operated 7 fulfillment centers and a total of 213 warehouses in 50 cities, and in total 5,367 delivery stations and pickup stations in 2,356 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees. JD.com is a member of the NASDAQ100.
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