China's leading home appliances manufacturer has inked a deal with China's largest e-commerce service provider for massive logistics expansion in China.
China's Alibaba Group and Haier Group jointly announced that the two parties have reached strategic cooperation for logistics and installation services in China. Alibaba Group will invest HKD2.822 billion, which is about CNY2.213 billion, in Haier Electrical Appliances, a subsidiary of Haier Group. The two parties will establish a whole set of systems and standards for home appliances and large goods delivery and installation services. This system will later open to the public.
With the strategic cooperation, Alibaba and Haier will build end-to-end large goods logistics service standards via Haier's newly established logistics company named "Ri Ri Shun". Ri Ri Shun will provide high-quality home appliances and large goods logistics, delivery and installation services for vendors and customers of Tmall.com, the B2C e-commerce subsidiary of Alibaba. Meanwhile, they will jointly develop and provide innovative supply chain management solutions and products.
For the assignment of the HKD2.822 billion investment, Alibaba Group will invest HKD1.857 billion in Ri Ri Shun; while the remaining HKD965 million will be exchanged for 2% of Haier Electrical Appliances' newly issued shares.
Zhang Ruimin, chairman and chief executive officer of Haier Group, said that the cooperation with Alibaba will allow Haier to learn from the e-commerce company. The cooperation not only aims to develop their businesses, but also aims at better user experiences for consumers.