Hamburg, May 14,
2018 – After the successful cooperation with JD.com and Alibaba, Beiersdorf is
now entering a strategic partnership with NetEase Kaola, China’s leading online
platform for cross-border trade. The boom in import goods in China has brought Kaola
high double-digit growth rates since its founding just three years ago. The partnership
gives Beiersdorf with its NIVEA brand access to this market, which grew by
80.6% in 2017 compared to the previous year*. Today NetEase Kaola
CEO Zhang Lei and Beiersdorf Board Member for Asia & Brands Ralph Gusko met
in the Hamburg City Hall in order to seal their strategic alliance in the
presence of Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher.
“The Senate supports and
promotes trade relations between the Hamburg economy and China. Today's
strategic partnership between Hamburg’s Dax company, Beiersdorf, and China's
largest cross-border eCommerce platform, Kaola.com, represents a major step
forward in trade between our Hanseatic city and Asia's largest economy,” said
Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Particularly
in the area of eCommerce China offers enormous potential, that Beiersdorf is
taking advantage of more and more through long-term partnerships with local
industry leaders. “Through the cooperation with NetEase Kaola we can further
expand our online presence in the important Chinese market and move closer to
local consumers,” Ralph Gusko, Beiersdorf Board
Member for Asia & Brands, explained. eCommerce is one of the essential
drivers of Beiersdorf’s growth. Viewed as a country, eCommerce will rank among
the 5 highest-revenue affiliates of Beiersdorf this year. “In the mass market
in particular this is an above average result. The partnership with Kaola takes
us to the next level,” Gusko continued. In the last year, NIVEA’s cross-border
eCommerce business in China achieved significant above-market growth.
For Zhang Lei, CEO of NetEase Kaola, the cooperation
with the world’s largest skin care brand* NIVEA means another important step in
expanding trade relations with Europe: “For Western countries entering the
complex Chinese market is often associated with hurdles. We are pleased and
very proud to be able to build bridges for a globally successful and popular
brand like NIVEA.”
In China “Made in Germany” brands stand for especially
high quality and reliability. This is a trend that supports Beiersdorf’s growth
in China and that the company can use for its other brands, too. “In addition
to NIVEA we have other strong brands in our portfolio,” Gusko said. “Our
partnership is just beginning. We look forward to continuing to develop it
together with Kaola in the future.”
*General
Administration of Customs (GAC) China, February 2018