VIP.com looks to procure $500 million of Australian goods
One of China’s largest online shopping platforms, VIP.com, has unveiled its new Sydney distribution centre this week, cementing its offer to Australian businesses.
VIP.com’s head of global buying, Hillary Wang, said the e-commerce platform is looking to procure $500 million of Australian goods in FY18 and plans to double that figure the year after.
“Australia is already a very strong market for VIP.com,” Wang said.
“We have highly effective partnerships with many Australian businesses and have become their primary sales channel in China. We have serious aspirations to become the number one platform in China for many more of our suppliers’ businesses.”
With total orders for the third quarter of 2017 increasing by 23 per cent to $74.0 million from $60.1 million in the prior year period, VIP.com is one of the largest players in China’s e-commerce space and the number one selling platform for many of Australia’s most successful brands in China, including Swisse and A2.
VIP.com has been the launch channel of choice for numerous other Australian iconic brands, including WeetBix and most recently, Australia’s largest food manufacturer, Nestle, which signed a strategic partnership to introduce Australia’s famous Uncle Toby’s, Allen’s confectionery and Soothers trademarks to China.
“We only deal with brand owners directly or through their authorised distributors. Authenticity is critical to building brands and Chinese shoppers know that VIP.com delivers that,” Wang said.
Another major point of difference to its Chinese e-commerce competitors is VIP.com’s female-skewed audience (+80 per cent) and its ability to customise the recommended range of products to shoppers, based on demographic and purchase history, making it an attractive channel in which to develop new brands.
“We are pleased to be investing in Australia. Chinese consumers trust Australia’s production standards and quality of its natural resources. Australia is our number one import market for nutrition and food and beverage, and whilst we have made much progress, we have plans for further significant growth. This trip is about deepening our partnerships with existing suppliers and inviting participation from potential new partners,” Wang said.
Symbolising VIP.com’s commitment to Australia, the company will invest in local infrastructure to enable growth in trade between Australian businesses and its accessible database of 300 million Chinese shoppers.
This investment is being channelled into supply chain capability and people in Australia to facilitate trade.
“In discussions with our Australian partners, we are often told the Australian market is a highly contested and offers relatively low growth. We are happy to bring a good news story to these businesses, the opportunity to share with Chinese shoppers brands that are rich in history, made with the best ingredients to the highest standards, by hard working Australians. These are exciting times,” Wang said.
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