German Pharmacy Retailer Bodyguard Apotheke Launches Store on JD Worldwide

Bodyguard Apotheke, a well-known German pharmacy retailer, recently launched a flagship store on JD Worldwide to sell to Chinese consumers via cross-border e-commerce. This is the next step in BA.de’s Asia-Pacific expansion strategy, after seeing continued success with its standalone China and South Korea e-commerce sites, which were launched in 2014 and 2017, respectively. 

This new development comes in anticipation of JD.com’s 618 Shopping Festival, one of China’s largest online shopping holidays, bringing in over $17 billion in sales last year for the e-commerce marketplace. Bodyguard Apotheke intends to leverage JD.com’s large user traffic and marketing tools to boost awareness and revenues for its China business. JD.com is one of China’s largest e-commerce marketplaces, with approximately 292 million annual active customers. JD Worldwide is JD.com’s international arm, focusing on introducing international retailers and brands to the China market.

BA.de Flagship Store on JD Worldwide

BA.de entered the China market in 2014 by partnering with borderless e-tailing group Azoya to launch a standalone online e-commerce store and manage local operations, marketing, and customer service. Originally an unknown player in the China market, the company initially sold maternity & baby products, steadily expanding its offerings to include beauty & cosmetics, food imports, and general merchandise. The company soon saw resounding success that was reflected in its volumes hitting over 800 orders a day. Last year, BA.de worked with Azoya to set up a cross-border e-commerce business in South Korea, launching its site in August 2017. 

Bodyguard Apotheke is the online subsidiary of Germany pharmacy retailer Einhorn Apotheke, which was founded by the Kraus family over 100 years ago in Germany. Bodyguard Apotheke’s online business was launched in 2007 and is now run by fourth-generation descendants Christian Kraus and Sebastian Kraus. It sells over 70,000 SKUs across maternity & baby, health supplements, cosmetics & beauty, general merchandise, etc.