ABP extends Chinese retail partnership
It plans to extend its range from three product lines to 10. The announcement was made during a visit by its Chinese distribution partner, Hopewise, to ABP’s Clones site in Ireland.
JD.Com is one of the largest business-to-consumer online retailers in China by transaction volume and revenue, with 301.8 million active users. ABP’s beef is supplied to JD.com through the Hopewise distribution network in China. The company first started supplying beef to JD.com in July 2018.
Ireland’s minister for business, enterprise and innovation Heather Humphreys, who was present at the meeting, welcomed the announcement. “I am delighted that ABP, through its Chinese distribution partner Hopewise, is now extending its range of online beef products for Chinese consumers through JD.com from three product lines to 10.
“JD.com is one of the largest business-to-consumer online retailers in China and I know that the process of purchasing beef products online is one of the fastest-growing trends in the Chinese market. Irish beef appeals to the Chinese consumer as it is fully traceable and hormone-free so, without a doubt, this is a mutually beneficial development for both the Irish and the Chinese economies.”
Mark Goodman, managing director of ABP’s international division, said: “ABP is delighted to welcome Minister Humphreys and our distribution partner, Hopewise, to our facility in Clones. Feedback and demand from Chinese consumers about our products on JD.com has been extremely positive. The time is now right for us to extend our range further to include another seven products. These have been developed following six months of close and successful collaboration between our new product development team here in Ireland, our colleagues in China and our distribution partner Hopewise. We look forward to the continued expansion of our products with Hopewise and the JD.com platform.”
Sun Yong Li, chairman of BJ Hopewise, added: “Irish beef is proving popular with our customers and with the Chinese consumer. They value the fact that the product is fully traceable, hormone-free and is produced in green fields. Demand has been increasing since we launched ABP’s product on JD.com in July. I think it is important for Ireland to push for more plant approvals to ensure increased supply as demand grows. The most important thing for JD.com is product availability.”
