Suning looks to global market

Chinese consumer electronics and home appliance retailer Suning Commerce Group Co said Sunday that it has acquired an overseas courier license from China's State Post Bureau (SPB). in a move to expand its overseas delivery business.

According to a press release sent to the Global Times, Suning said the SPB has approved 12 enterprises' licenses for express delivery, and only Suning won the international business approval.

Obtaining the license enables Suning to conduct international courier service just like international giants, including FedEx, DHL, UPS, and TNT. Suning is also the first consumer electronics retailer that has acquired such a license, said the release.

"When retailers in overseas markets open their booth on our B2C [business to customer] e-commerce platform, they could use our courier services," Cui Lili, a Suning public relations spokeswoman, told the Global Times Sunday.

"When overseas customers purchase items from Suning's online shop, we could deliver them right to their doors," Cui noted, without disclosing the transfer price.

And when customers purchase goods from overseas vendors, they could also use Suning's courier services and logistic chains to ship their purchase to China, according to Cui.

Suning's move may be seen as a preparation step for the cross-border trading business in the future, Xu Yong, chief advisor with Shanghai-based China Express and Logistics Consulting, told the Global Times Sunday.

In the long run, the overseas courier service provided by companies like Suning will prove to be very useful, enabling customers to purchase authentic and price-competitive goods from markets outside China, Xu said.

However, the goods transferred via Suning will take a longer time to clear customs than individual purchasing agents, which could increase their delivery time, he noted.

"Many domestic purchasing agents operate in illegal means," Xu remarked.

Xu also said that compared with international courier giants, Suning's service will enjoy a price advantage due to its economy of scales but in the meantime be more time-consuming.