JD.com Launches German Mall to Tap Growing Chinese Demand for “Made in Germany” Products


Newest Country-Focused Mall to Showcase Leading German Brands Including Nivea, Oldenburger and Würenbacher

German Agricultural Society Agreement Paves Way for Expanded JD Selection of Premium German Wine and Agricultural Products

COLOGNE, Germany, Oct. 09, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:JD), China's largest online direct sales company, today announced the launch of German Mall, the latest addition to JD.com’s growing suite of country-focused curated channels that showcase a range of authentic, imported products from leading global brands.

German Mall was launched today at a special event in Cologne attended by Carol Fung, vice president of JD.com and president of JD Mall’s FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) business unit; Gayle Gao, Far East regional vice president of Beiersdorf AG; Dr. Hans-Georg Eils, general manager of Karlsberg and president of the Germany Beer Brewing Association; Frank van Amelsvoort, head of DMK Consumer China; and representatives from other leading Germany companies.

JD.com’s German Mall will offer a wide selection of “Made in Germany” products across a number of categories including cosmetics, food and beverage, home furnishing, home appliances, kitchenware, and baby and maternity products, from brands such as Nivea, Oldenburger, and Würenbacher, among many others.

As part of its push to increase the variety of authentic German products on its site, JD.com also announced that it has signed an MOU with the German Agricultural Society (DLG). Under the agreement, DLG will work with its 24,000 members and JD.com to increase the range of German agricultural produce available on JD.com, with a particular emphasis on wine, which is one of JD.com’s fastest growing product categories.

The MOU was signed by Rudolf Hepp, DLG e.V. Vice CEO, and Jiaxin Zhang, senior manager of JD.com’s FMCG business unit at a ceremony today. Since 2014, JD.com has cooperated with dozens of German winemakers and distributors including Weinhandlung Dr. Richter, Henkell and Schloss Johannisberg, among many others. This cooperation with DLG will enable JD.com to further grow the selection of German wines it can offer its customers through increased access to DLG’s members.

“Germany is now the third most popular region of origin for imported goods on JD Worldwide, behind only North America and Japan, and we expect that German Mall will unlock even more opportunities for German retailers to connect with our 118 million active customers across China,” said Ms. Fung. “Our customers understand that shopping on JD.com guarantees quality and authenticity, and our country malls give them a great new way to engage with the brands they love, and to discover new brands and products from our carefully selected range.”

Ahead of the launch of German Mall, JD.com and Beiersdorf, Nivea’s parent company, signed an agreement yesterday at a private event at Beiersdorf’s Hamburg headquarters. As part of the agreement, JD.com becomes a Beiersdorf preferred ecommerce partner and will get early access to new products when they are launched globally. The two parties will work to leverage big data and other JD.com technological resources to evaluate, for example, consumer skin care product sales trends in near real time. In addition, Nivea will offer a wide range of authentic, imported skincare products on JD.com’s German Mall, further expanding the range of the company’s products that will be available to the JD.com’s active, dedicated and growing user base.

“JD.com is already a key partner for Nivea in China, and we’re delighted to expand our cooperation by joining German Mall,” said Thomas Grunzke, senior vice president North East Asia of Beiersdorf. “Working with JD.com gives us unparalleled access to millions of upwardly mobile consumers across China to meet their growing demand for authentic, premium imported skin care products.”

JD.com also signed strategic partnership agreements with DMK Deutsches Milchkontor GmbH, one of Germany’s largest dairy companies, and Karlsberg, a leading German brewing company. The agreements will help the companies promote sales of DMK’s Oldenburger milk brand and Karlsberg’s Würenbacher brand of beer to Chinese consumers. Under the terms of the agreements, JD.com will provide the companies with a range of strategic support services, including marketing, consumer targeting and logistics. JD.com is already the top ecommerce channel for both Oldenburg and Würenbacher in China by sales volume.

German Mall is the newest addition to JD.com’s suite of country-focused malls that cater to rapidly growing demand for imported products among Chinese consumers. To date this year, JD.com has launched French, Korean, Japanese, Australian and U.S. Malls.

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 166 warehouses in 44 cities, and in total 4,142 delivery stations and pickup stations in 2,043 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees. JD.com is a member of the NASDAQ-100 index.

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