Lidl treks China's Online Silk Road
2017-05-26
Only days after Premier Xi Jinping announced his party's $900bn 'Belt and Road' policy, Lidl has opened an online shop in the People's Republic of China. Like arch-rival Aldi, the German discount giant has chosen Alibaba's Tmall Global as its B2C platform. Although the official start isn't until next week, Chinese consumers can already view the site under https://lidl.tmall.hk/. Both page design and assortment are obviously not yet complete, but Lidl has chosen to present popular German own label products, such as Combino, Bellarom and Sondey.
Unlike Aldi, who imports from Australia, Lidl is sourcing directly from Germany via its buying subsidiary in Hong Kong. The range includes breakfast products, such as cocoa and instant cappuccino, as well as pasta and cooking ingredients, such as Balsamic vinegar. Like Aldi, Lidl has created its own logo for China and has translated its name into Chinese. Local customers are also provided with detailed product information, including provenance. After German drugstore operators dm and Rossmann, Lidl is the fourth major German retailer to plumb for online business in China. It certainly won't be the last.
