FAQs

WPIC operates under a partnership model. Depending on an organization’s needs for market entry or growth in APAC, WPIC delivers tailored services covering data, analytics, e-commerce activations and store management, brand strategy, creative campaigns, merchandising, warehousing, 3PL integrations, and more. WPIC can offer its brand partners any combination of these services, depending on what their needs are.

The partnership model is facilitated by WPIC’s Engagements Team, a designated client service layer based in North America that works with organizations to set a strategy for a market entry or growth program. The Engagements Team then serves as a bridge between the brand and WPIC’s teams across Asia who execute the strategy, so organizations enjoy full visibility and input on strategic and tactical decisions.

WPIC is not a distributor. We are an e-commerce solutions provider and market manager that helps organizations enter and grow in various Asian markets through a vertically integrated, tip-to-tail solution set.

When organizations work with WPIC, they continue to own their inventory, stores, and their brands in the region. Our brand partners retain full control over strategic and tactical decisions, with WPIC serving as the operating partner in the market and providing local expertise and advice. Unlike traditional distributors, WPIC does not purchase inventory directly from organizations—nor do we buy rights to the brand in a particular market.

This setup is advantageous for organizations for a variety of reasons, as it allows them to retain visibility and control over how their brand is presented in the market. Moreover, working through WPIC allows brands to cultivate a direct relationship with APAC consumers. Going D2C in Asia is more advantageous than a distributor model because the region is so dynamic and fast-changing. To succeed, you need to be closer to your customers.

Another difference between WPIC and distributors is that our expertise is in online commerce and leveraging digital channels to build brand presence and revenue growth, which is the best way to build brand in the region.

Distributors, on the other hand, typically specialize in offline retail channels and lack the infrastructure and expertise to build a successful online presence. As a result, brands who sell their market rights to a distributor may miss the chance to capitalize on the explosive growth of e-commerce across the region.

For example, China’s highly advanced e-commerce ecosystem now contributes over 51% of all retail sales in the market. Working with WPIC will allow your brand to tap into this explosive growth in online retail, while a distributor will prioritize traditional offline channels that are now in decline.

WPIC works with brands of all shapes and sizes that share one thing in common: they want to grow their revenue and brand awareness in the key markets in the Asia Pacific region. We draw on our end-to-end capabilities to deliver solutions that are tailored to each organization’s specific needs and foci. Our brand partners include both small and mid-sized organizations looking for comprehensive market entry programs, as well as larger multinationals with an established market presence seeking growth.

WPIC is sector agnostic—our brand partners encompass nearly every consumer sector, including: fashion and apparel; child / baby / maternity and toys; beauty and cosmetics; health and wellness; sports, fitness, and outdoor equipment; packaged foods and beverages; pet food and products; house and homewares; consumer electronics; and more.

In addition, WPIC has conducted extensive work in B2B and governmental sectors, including: industrial and manufacturing; electronics and semiconductors; pharmaceutical; logistics and transportation; software and IT; telecommunications; and others.

Yes. Our Engagements Team, which is spread out coast-to-coast across North America, serves as the principal point of contact for all brand partners, and is designed to provide organizations with a seamless experience that bridges cultures, language and time zones between Asia and the rest of the world.

While WPIC has worked with almost a thousand different organizations across APAC, there are, of course, no guarantees that any particular product or brand will succeed in those markets. To mitigate risk on a market entry plan, WPIC recommends that brands work with our big data division to assess the market opportunity before investing in an entry program.

WPIC’s custom-built big data tool, Discripto™, provides market intelligence, competitor analysis, and consumer preference analysis, which then informs SKU selection and pricing strategy. These reports allow organizations to: identify the size of the prize in their space; get clarity into how competitors are operating in the market; see what sort of organic velocity the brand already has in the market; get a sense of what price points the market will bear; and much more.

While most consumer sectors in APAC are experiencing world-leading growth, DiscriptoTM can provide a three-dimensional blueprint to success and help validate the decision to enter Asia before making the investment.

The reality is that for different brands, there are different ways to succeed in APAC (and success means different things to different organizations, too).

There are, however, a few best practices that should guide any market growth program. A general recipe for success includes: leveraging WPIC’s data capabilities; localizing your brand’s marketing so that it appeals to local consumers preferences and needs; omnichannel marketing to push your brand across every major digital platform used by your target consumer; integrating what you learn from your customers in Asia into your production processes and cycles; nurturing relationships and building engagement with the right partners, platforms, and networks; and – if you’re a B2C brand – participating in major consumer purchasing events like the 11/11 Singles’ Day shopping festival.

There are multiple ways for your organization’s products to get to the end consumer.

The easiest way is to take advantage of WPIC’s dedicated logistics and warehousing division to handle all commerce enablement details. Our two warehouses in Nanjing—one of which is in a dedicated cross-border free trade zone—can support single source inventory for a brand’s entire APAC operations. These warehouses support: pick and pack; order replenishment; and returns management and processing – all while integrating with multiple e-commerce platforms and last mile delivery providers across APAC.

For brands who have existing warehousing and fulfilment in Asia, our Operations team can help to facilitate existing processes to ensure that those solutions integrate with the stores you launch.

From gaining platform approval, to customs and product licensing, to logistics, to SKU selection, to developing marketing assets, to timing the launch—the action plan for launching your brand in Asia often reaches more than 300 individual action items.

One benefit of working with WPIC is that we have deep relationships with the key platforms in the region and strong muscle memory from launching hundreds of programs.

Furthermore, WPIC simplifies the entire process for brand partners by offering a dedicated client services team, who are based in your time zone and walk organizations through each step in the process: from platform applications, to launching stores, to program optimization and growth —and beyond.

WPIC’s Engagements division is a dedicated client service layer that bridges WPIC’s brand partners around the world and our Asia-based operations teams. WPIC’s e-commerce and marketing teams span our offices in Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Osaka—but the Engagements team is based across North America, providing a single point of contact for you on your time zone.

When a brand joins the WPIC family, they are appointed Engagements managers and multiple coordinators, each of whom have backgrounds in product merchandising, program management, and marketing, and a deep understanding of Asia’s digital and e-commerce landscape (with specific experts on each country in the region). In the onboarding and store launch phases, the Engagements team works with brand partners to build out a strategy for the program, including revenue trajectories, merchandising, brand-building, product marketing, and more.

Once a program goes live, they will continue to meet regularly to discuss its progress and any strategic or tactical adjustments. The Engagements team works closely with the in-market operations teams to ensure that the brand’s vision for the market is implemented.

Additionally, WPIC provides access to a one-of-a-kind online Store Tool, which gives brands visibility into the performance of their e-commerce programs in Asia. The tool compiles and visualizes (in English) real-time data about revenue, inventory, store orders, social media metrics, and much more, allowing brands to understand and manage their businesses in each of the key marketplaces.