JD.com now a member of American Apparel & Footwear Association
Chinese online retail giant JD.com is now a certified member of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA). The announcement was made by the Chinese group on the occasion of the publication of its Q1 results. It is a first for a Chinese e-tailer: until now, the AAFA was known in China as an avowed enemy of international e-tail leviathan Alibaba.
"JD.com, as a member of AAFA, will collaborate with international fashion labels on the issues related to IP-address protection, as the group continues to invest on introducing top worldwide brands to Chinese consumers via its JD.com website," stated the group.
The alliance between JD.com and the AAFA comes as quite a surprise. In general, the AAFA's relationship with Chinese e-tailers has, for a long time now, boiled down to a series of repeated attacks against Alibaba. The AAFA is set on making sure that the latter remains on the US government's black list of distributors of counterfeit goods.
In the first quarter 2017, JD.com has posted a 41.2% rise in sales, reaching CNY76.2 billion (€10.1 billion). The group ascribed this explosive result chiefly to the introduction of brands such as Avène and Giorgio Armani. The latter, though in the midst of a brand portfolio restructuring, has deployed EA7, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani Underwear e-stores on JD.com. The Chinese group is also wooing foreign labels by means of its recently deployed turnkey logistics service.
At the end of March, JD.com claimed 236.5 million users, up 40% on a yearly basis. In the same period, the number of online orders grew at a similar clip, reaching 477.1 million. Compared to the first quarter 2016, purchases via mobile are up 56%, and now account for 81% of the total.
Last year, JD.com's sales were worth CNY372.3 billion (€49.5 billion), equivalent to a spectacular 46% growth. Income too grew at a fast rate, rising 44% and reaching €34 billion. And while revenue from product sales rose 42%, revenue generated by service sales leaped 66%.
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