Wang Yuanyuan
GERMAN giant Bertelsmann AG announced Friday that Arvato Logistics Services China Ltd. has opened with its two Chinese partners in Bao’an District, Shenzhen. It will provide logistic services for the country’s mobile phone and high-end electronic industry.
Bartelsmann closed all its book-related businesses, including online bookstores, in China last year. The company will now shift its emphasis here to logistical services, said Cui Juan, director of the company’s publicity department.
The newly established company, jointly owned by Arvato Bertelsmann, Shenzhen Telling Communication Co. Ltd. and Sinomaster Group (SMT), will mainly focus on the warehousing and distribution of high-value products and value-added services, as well as after-sales management, said Raoul Kuetemeier, CEO of the joint venture.
For the time being, a central distribution center has been set up in Shenzhen. Several more smaller warehouses throughout South China will open this year.
“The Shenzhen warehouse is only the first step in creating a nationwide network of distribution centers to cover mainland cities,” Keutemeier said. “We also expect that the company will distribute at least 7 million mobile phones in its first year of operation.”
Telling is one of the biggest mobile phone distributors in China, with dealerships for Motorola, Nokia, Sumsang and Sony Ericsson and SMT at more than 100,000 branches across the country.
The three companies had been negotiating the China deal since 2005, with a goal of building China’s biggest multi-regional logistics service provider in mobile phones.
Despite the financial crisis, huge demand still exists in the Chinese market, said Xu Kaibo, CEO of Arvato Services (China) Co. Ltd. “With the development of 3G and a series of preferential regulations for the logistic services industry, the financial crisis could provide excellent opportunities for the company because companies need top services to increase their efficiency and reduce costs under economic recession.”
