JD.com is expanding private brands in home goods, pet

JD.com, China’s largest online retailer, has tapped a supply chain solutions company to assist with a collection of private brands.

The retailer is working with Hong Kong-based Li & Fung Limited to create a multi-cateogy collection that includes homeware under the brands Made by JD and Best Home, as well as a pet line under Jingmeng (Cute Pet). The private brand rollout is an extension of JD.com’s work with Li & Fung and its digital supply chain capabilities. 

Focusing on private brands, the joint venture’s newest initiative will leverage the emerging C2M (consumer-to-manufacturer) business model that is rapidly gaining momentum in Mainland China, Li & Fung said.

C2M enables manufacturers to dramatically shorten the time from design to shipping products to consumers from the industry average of 40 weeks to as little as two weeks. Products are tested in multiple SKUs of small quantities through e-commerce channels, providing more accurate data analysis of end-consumer preferences so that iterations can be made quickly and inventory can be adjusted in real-time, the company said.

“JD.com can leverage Li & Fung’s 3D product design expertise and supply chain know-how to create and produce these new private label brands,” said Wilson Zhu, newly-appointed head of C2M initiatives at Li & Fung. “By continuing to leverage the respective strengths of both companies we will deliver precisely what consumers are looking for – within their budget and at a much faster speed – through better forecasting, smarter production and maximum supply chain efficiency.”

 Wang Xiaosong, SVP of JD.com and head of JD.com’s private brands division added, “Li & Fung’s industry-leading 3D product design capabilities and wide-ranging product category expertise will greatly enhance our ability to create private-label brands that online consumers welcome and trust. The brand development process will also be informed by insights from our big data analysis."