Chinese-Language Site To Launch This Month
Net-A-Porter's new Hong Kong distribution center should cut down already short delivery times to China
As Jing Daily noted last week, the wildly successful Richemont-owned British luxury e-tailer Net-A-Porter is set to launch a Chinese-language version later this month, part of a stronger effort to tap the Asian market that will also see the company open a Hong Kong distribution center. Though Net-A-Porter already has a great deal of operational experience in the Chinese e-tail business, via its one-year-old Outnet.cn site and the leadership of Asia senior vice president Adrienne Ma, the road ahead won’t be easy in China — and not just because of stiff competition from local and international competitors.
According to available information in advance of the official Chinese site launch, Net-A-Porter’s new local version will not accept payment in renminbi, nor will it accept other popular Chinese payment methods like UnionPay or cash-on-delivery. To shop on the site, Chinese consumers must have overseas accounts or accounts in U.S. dollars at mainland banks. Though the site does offer one perk beloved by Chinese luxury e-tail devotees — free shipping — competitors like Neiman Marcus and Yoox offer a range of payment options for Chinese shoppers.
As the Chinese business site “Great Wisdom” (大智慧阿思达克通讯社) writes this week, Net-A-Porter’s China expansion efforts illustrate the complexities of the country’s labyrinthine tax policy (translation by Jing Daily team):