industry focus
China in our hands
UK Trade and Investment, the Government department that supports UK-based exporters, has signed agreements with five top Chinese e-marketplaces to widen access to China's market of more than 650 million Internet users to British retailers.
The agreements are estimated to be worth £1 billion to UK companies over the next three years.
The signings took place at ‘China: The Retail Opportunity’, a one-day conference held in London as part of the Chinese State Visit. UKTI signed agreements with JD Worldwide, Netease/Kaola, XIU.com, Mogujie and Ctrip.
Dr Catherine Raines, chief executive of UK Trade & Investment, said: “In China, e-marketplaces account for 90% of all e-commerce transactions, and Chinese consumers spent £367 billion online in the first quarter of this year alone. The agreements UKTI has signed provide a clear route to help UK companies take advantage of the massive e-commerce opportunities in China, with support from both UK Government and the e-marketplace platforms themselves.”
Many luxury brands will watch the next steps with interest because while China is a huge e-retail market for the UK, it is also home to many ‘grey’ market counterfeit organisations that flood the UK market with fake brands. While the ink dries on the multi-billion pound agreement it remains unclear how the new deal will impact this illicit trade, if at all.
