Camus Cognac, the world’s largest family-run, independent cognac house, has announced an expansion of its partnership with JD.com, China’s largest retailer.  Under the expanded partnership, in addition to offering several of Camus’ premium brands to consumers, JD will work with Camus Cognac to launch exclusive products based on consumer insights into Chinese consumption trends, and leverage its diverse offline resources to help Camus develop innovative marketing programs, in-line with JD’s “Boundaryless Retail” strategy.

JD’s analysis of Chinese consumers of imported liquor found that many of them are affluent, in the relatively young 26 to 35 age bracket and curious to try novel products. Based on this, Camus Cognac recently launched a Cognac VSOP gift box on JD. The product features rich flavors and is ideally suited for younger consumers who are interested in exploring new spirits.

Cyril Camus, the fifth-generation owner and president of Camus Cognac said: “We are thrilled to grow our ongoing partnership and collaboration with JD.com. As Chinese wine and spirit consumers continue to mature in sophistication, I am confident that this partnership represents the perfect match – combining Camus Cognac’s relentless drive for the utmost refinement and JD’s dedication to an impeccable omnichannel shopping experience.”

“We are excited to expand our strategic partnership with Camus Cognac,” said Carol Fung, president of JD FMCG. “We look forward to leveraging JD’s abilities in customer analysis, marketing solutions and technology to increase Camus’s brand recognition among Chinese consumers who are passionate about high quality liquor.”

The expanded partnership comes as demand for high quality spirits in China continues to rise. According to industry estimates, the amount of imported spirits consumed in China is expected to grow 20% within four years, rising from a total of 4.4 million boxes in 2018 to as much as 5.3 million boxes in 2022. In 2018, China overtook Singapore for the first time to become the world’s second largest buyer of cognac after the US, with over 255 million bottles consumed.

The USA’s oldest clothing brand and retailer, Brooks Brothers has launched an official flagship store on JD.com, China’s largest retailer, online or offline.

Brooks Brothers joins a host of leading luxury apparel labels choosing JD.com to connect with millions of high-end, fashion-conscious customers in China. The iconic fashion brand will introduce its upcoming fall/winter 2019 menswear collection through its flagship store, taking advantage of JD’s position as the most-trusted platform for high-end Chinese consumers.

“Our new flagship store on JD.com is ideally positioned to reach Brooks Brothers’ key customer demographics, and is a core part of our China marketing strategy for 2019,” said Lawrence Lam, Managing Director at Brooks Brothers Greater China Ltd. “With its guarantee of authenticity and commitment to quality service, JD.com offers international brands the best way to build a relationship with China’s e-commerce focused fashion consumers.”

“Brooks Brothers is a titan of the American fashion industry, and we’re delighted to introduce their iconic collections to discerning shoppers on JD.com,” said Kevin Jiang, President of International Business at JD Fashion and Lifestyle. “Our high-end user base makes JD a uniquely attractive choice for international brands entering the Chinese market.”

Established in 1881 and having dressed U.S. presidents from Abraham Lincoln and FDR to JFK and Barack Obama, Brooks Brothers is arguably America’s most iconic fashion brand, as well as its oldest. The brand currently operates over 500 stores in more than 17 countries worldwide, and offers men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories addressing every aspect of its customers’ diverse and multi-faceted lives, serving as “the model for quintessential American style.”

JD.com is well-known for a loyal, high-end consumer base, which is a main target demographic for the luxury industry. Over the years, JD.com has successfully delivered a comprehensive omnichannel luxury experience. It provides premium services such as its JD Luxury Express “white glove” delivery service, which sees professionally-dressed couriers hand-deliver purchases to consumers’ homes, driven by electric cars. A large number of well-known luxury brands from across the world have already established partnerships with JD.com, including Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Armani, and Paul Smith.

JD.com has launched a new supply chain innovation program that brings offline and online retail closer together than ever before, seamlessly and conveniently enhancing the shopping experience for customers. The initiative was revealed at a small media event hosted at JD’s headquarters earlier today. By leveraging the offline retail outlets where many products already sit, this program improves the overall efficiency of the supply chain by expanding availability and speeding goods to shoppers. This is possible because, instead of having every product pass through traditional warehouses, distribution centers, and delivery stations before reaching the customer, offline channels can now directly deliver orders that come from JD, instantly expanding what is already China’s most extensive supply chain network.

The first of its type globally, the new program integrates multiple types of offline channels, including supermarkets, convenience stores, some brands’ offline stores, and Dada-JD Daojia, China’s leading crowdsourced delivery company. As a result, JD is able to increase efficiency and get products into its customers’ hands even faster. The average delivery time with the program is two hours, but customers can receive orders in as little as 30 minutes. Further, brands participating in the program with JD are likely to see improved store traffic and turnover rates.

The supply chain innovation program is part of JD’s broader Retail as a Service (RAAS) strategy to open its extensive resources to partners and others. It is also builds upon JD’s highly advanced and successful inventory integration project with Walmart. In that program, customers who buy any product from JD’s first-party platform that is also available in a Walmart store may receive it from the store if it is closer to their house than a JD warehouse.  With this enhancement, several other retailers have also joined the program including Better Life, Nongfu Spring, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Tsingtao Beer, and liquor retailer 9bianli. Currently the program covers items such as non-alcoholic beverages, beer, wine, rice, and flour — many products that are bulky, heavy, and challenging to store and ship.

Coca-Cola is one partner that is already seeing benefits from this innovative smart supply chain initiative. When consumers order Coca-Cola beverages on JD, the system instantly analyzes factors such as proximity to the delivery address and determines whether it’s more effective to source from a JD warehouse or from one of the offline channels. If an offline channel is chosen, the product will be packed offline and delivered to the consumer directly. Before the end of 2020, Coca-Cola plans to expand its participation in more than 20 cities and operate about 20 delivery locations (such as convenience stores) in each city.

Another partner that is already reaping significant benefits is top Chinese beverage brand Nongfu Spring. Since joining JD’s program, the daily orders in Nongfu’s offline water stations have increased about 20% overall and doubled on June 18, the final day of JD’s 18-day anniversary sales festival. Further, 90% of orders were delivered within two hours without adding employees in Nongfu stations, a clear indicator of increased efficiency.

“Partnering with JD for this innovative program boosts traffic while increasing delivery speed, which is extremely beneficial to consumers,” says Li Zhou, Chief Secretary of the Board, Nongfu Spring: “We see enormous potential to deliver more orders from offline channels in the future, and will roll out the program in more cities around China soon.”

“We’re shortening the supply chain by empowering offline retail channels to fulfill orders directly, rather than having to go through warehouses.” said Carol Fung, president of JD FMCG. “The fact is a lot of products, especially ones that we need and those we use every day, are already in nearby stores, but they are delayed by going through the many links of the traditional supply chain. This program cuts out unnecessary steps, improving efficiency for retailers, maximizing resources, reducing costs, and improving the customer experiences.”

Currently the program covers 20,000 offline stores in 54 cities, including 175 Walmart hypermarkets, 198 Nongfu Spring offline water stations in Beijing, and 166 9bianli liquor stores throughout China.