UK online fashion and beauty store ASOS has selected the hybris Commerce Suite to launch its new e-commerce business in China. Providing an omni-channel experience for those 420 million potential customers, the site will include a fully-integrated, feature-rich mobile version.
With six million active customers, ASOS stocks more than 60,000 branded and own-label products through each of its websites: UK, USA, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, and Russia. It ships to 241 countries and territories from its 1.1 million square foot global distribution centre in the UK.
According to a report from eMarketer released in February 2013, this year’s B2C e-commerce sales are expected to grow 18.3 percent to US$1.298 trillion worldwide as Asia-Pacific (APAC) surpasses North America to become the world’s No. 1 market for B2C e-commerce.
“Within the APAC region, China is recognised as being the primary driver of growth and, as such, it’s a market in which we want to be a major player,” said Pete Marsden, CIO at ASOS. “However, it is also a market with unique characteristics and requirements. To address these, we needed a proven and robust omni-channel platform that can support our new e-commerce business and the rapid growth and high traffic numbers that we’re expecting due to the size of the Chinese market. hybris, with its fully localised Commerce Suite and established partner ecosystem in the region, was far and above the best fit to meet these requirements.”
“ASOS is one of those visionary retailers that recognises the potential of the Chinese market,” said Burghardt Groeber, Vice President Asia at hybris. “Most major US and European retailers have opened traditional brick-and-mortar stores in China, but have realised that opening an e-commerce business is a quicker and more effective approach to reach the growing number of customers in second and third tier cities. However, this approach also comes with challenges to meet local, cultural and linguistic requirements.”
Entelechy Asia 