AuMake enters into agreement with JD Worldwide

AuMake International Limited has joined forces with JD Worldwide, a division of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, to create a new omnichannel platform for Australian and New Zealand brands to reach Chinese customers. The strategic agreement, which was signed in Sydney on Tuesday, will see JD combine its online and logistics capability in China with AuMake’s retail store and brand building capabilities in Australia.

The partnership mirrors a similar agreement between Alibaba’s Tmall and Chemist Warehouse, the companies noted in a statement.

The agreement builds on the booming daigou industry in Australia and New Zealand, where personal shoppers, often Chinese students or tourists, buy and ship products on behalf of family, friends and other clients in China.

AuMake over the past two years has expanded its chain of retail stores catering to daigou shoppers with relevant products and services.

Under the agreement, AuMake will become JD’s exclusive retail store partner in Australia and New Zealand and connect existing and future store customers to its online flagship on JD’s cross-border platform, JD Worldwide.

JD, under the agreement, will fully support AuMake’s online flagship, with an initial sales target of 10 million RMB ($2 million) per month, and provide access to its warehouse and dispatch logistics network in China.

The companies will also work together to incubate and develop new brands to be exclusively sold on the JD Worldwide platform and in AuMake retail stores.

AuMake executive chairman Keong Chan called the agreement a “company-changing event”.

“This is a company changing event for AuMake and confirms the value that we have created so far via our retail store distribution network in Sydney,” he said.

“Under this collaboration with JD Worldwide, AuMake will now be able to reach hundreds of millions of customers in China with new brands and products, including brands and products owned by AuMake.”

Keong added that he believes AuMake and JD together can fundamentally change the way in which Australian and New Zealand products reach the Chinese market.