2.) E-commerce keeps growing, but consolidation beckons
China looks set to surpass the incrediable mark of USD 1 trillion (EUR 849 billion) in online sales in 2017.
Sales on Singles Day – the so-called “11-11” event created by Alibaba – were up 40 percent this year to USD 25 billion (EUR 21.2 billion) – more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday put together. China’s big e-commerce players like Alibaba continue to look to buy traditional retailers. When not buying them outright, they’re inking cooperation deals, like that with supermarket major Auchan, which are used to drive and facilitate online sales.
These moves are radically changing retail in China, and as a benefit, seafood brands will be able to follow more efficient targeted routes to market in China. However control and pricing looks set to slide in favor of the big e-commerce players, not the sellers. With so much competition in the marketplace, a shakeout of smaller e-commerce players – most of whom are unprofitable – is likely in the offing. This calls for some careful decisions by seafood firms on which channels to use.
