WPP commits deeper investment in China’s ecommerce mkt with Polestar
WPP Ventures contributed to China’s booming ecommerce industry with Polestar Co, a joint company for integrated ecommerce solutions. WPP Ventures is the investment arm of WPP Digital, which will hold minority stake in the ecommerce start-up. This investment marks a further step towards WPP’s goal of developing its networks in fast-growth markets and sectors.
This start-up is expected to direct industry experts revisit the effectiveness of internet servicing companies in China. Commenting on the investment, Figo Yang, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar said, “We are delighted to work with WPP and its agencies, and to help their clients become e-commerce leaders in China.”
After sharing a successful entrepreneurial stint with Alibaba, Netease, Yahoo!, HP and UTC, Mr Yang and Chief Operating Officer, Allen Liu will lead the management at Polester. Mr Yang was the Founder of Wang Cang, China’s first company to automate and systematised critical warehousing operations company.
China is the leader in terms of online spending by shoppers with forecasted spending of RMB3.3 trillion in 2015 and ahead of US in 2013, according to Bain & Co. However, the industry needs a push in terms of number e-commerce servicing companies in China.
Polestar will attend to various platforms such as Alibaba’s Taobao (C2C) and TMall (B2B), JD.com and the mobile messaging service WeChat with WPP group companies, Chinese and international brands on all areas of e-commerce operations .
Further, it will develop O2O (online to offline) sector, a data management platform to track clients and evaluate and optimise ecommerce operations.
Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer of WPP said, “Understanding and monetizing the e-commerce opportunity is a top priority for all brands in China, and by partnering with Polestar we can now offer our clients a one-stop solution, a first in China.
The new joint company was launched at a signing ceremony on September 23 in the Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, with strong support from the provincial government.
WPP acknowledges the growth of the digital medium and targets 40-45 per cent of revenue generation from digital medium in that period. In 2013, WPP’s digital revenue was USD 6 billion or 35 per cent of USD 17.3 billion, WPP’s total revenue during the year.
