An Ulmart store in St. Petersburg. The company was chosen as one of world's most dynamic companies by the World Economic Forum. (Photo : www.multivu.com)
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. has announced its partnership with Ulmart, Russia's biggest online retailer, on June 16, Tuesday, as part of expansion plan into its first foreign market.
The China Daily reported that the boom in Russia's online sales in recent years was driven by the growth of Internet connectivity in the country, which has attracted global players such as Alibaba and eBay.
JD.com now plans to join other players in a bid to tap the Russian market, which has the biggest number of Internet users in Europe, after overtaking Germany in 2011 based on data by comScore, an Internet analytics firm.
"The company embarks on global expansion today," Victor Xu, president of JD.com's international business group, told reporters.
"At the first stage, we position ourselves as a platform with emphasis on Chinese goods. Later, it will be a platform for global trade," Xu added.
Citing data from research firm GfK, JD.com said that the volume of Russia's cross-border online trade could reach $14 billion and is expected to double this year compared with 2014. The firm said that China accounted for 63 percent of all Russian cross-border online shopping last year.
The report added that the partnership between JD.com and Ulmart would help promote and sell goods offered on JD.com through Ulmart's platform, including its website and pick-up points.
The Chinese e-commerce company is also set to launch its own Russian-language website on June 18 where shoppers can pay using credit and debit cards, including PayPal, and will soon be able to receive payment via electronic wallets provided by Qiwi and Sberbank's Yandex.Money.
JD.com also signed in May a cooperation agreement with Russian delivery business SPSR-Express.
