Who actually sells your product in China?

Key takeaways

• Companies that offer to “sell your product in China” can play very different roles. Some buy your goods, some run your store, some bring you customers, and some only provide tools.
• Being on a platform is not a channel strategy. The same platform can host several commercial models with different contracts, cash flows and risks.
• Before choosing a platform or signing a partner, clarify five things: who owns the inventory, who makes the sale, who creates demand, who manages the customer relationship, and how revenue and risk are shared.

You need more than a sales channel

Last week we looked at a product that sells for €99 in Europe and, in our illustrative example, would need to retail for around RMB 1,100 in China. When Chinese consumers can buy a similar local product for far less, what gives a European brand the right to win?

At the end of that issue I promised to talk about pricing. Before we get there, there is a more basic question to answer: whose hands will your product pass through on its way to a Chinese customer? Every player in that chain affects the economics behind the final price. So before we talk about pricing, we need to understand the chain.

In traditional international trade, the answer is fairly simple. You find an importer, sign a distributor and get the product onto shelves. A European company researching China today quickly runs into a different vocabulary: Tmall flagship stores, JD self-operated retail, Douyin livestreams, Xiaohongshu “buyers”, WeChat Stores, private-domain traffic.

These terms all sound like sales channels, but they sit on different levels. Some are platforms where consumers shop. Some are operating models. Some are ways of creating demand, and others describe service providers. If you call all of them “channels”, you lose sight of the questions that actually matter: who buys the goods, who completes the sale with the consumer, who creates demand, and who carries the inventory and after-sales risk?

I helped expand a nationwide retail network in China, working on store openings and distributor partnerships. One lesson from that time has stayed with me: the number of stores carrying a brand is not the same as the sales capability the brand has actually built. A store is a point of contact, but it doesn’t guarantee sales. Whether channel partners are motivated to push a product, and who is responsible for stock and sell-through, matter just as much.

Chinese retail has become far more varied since then, but the starting point for understanding it hasn’t changed. It is still the relationship between product, transaction and customer.

Why is the Chinese shopping journey no longer a straight line?

Imagine a consumer in Shanghai who is thinking about buying a household product from a European brand.

She might start on Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle and review platform, to read how other people rate the product. A few days later, a product demonstration appears in her feed on Douyin, ByteDance’s Chinese counterpart to TikTok. She then opens Taobao or Tmall, Alibaba’s marketplaces, to search for the brand and compare product details, reviews and prices. Or she switches to JD.com because its delivery or after-sales service suits her better. After buying, if the brand offers a membership with real value, she may choose to follow its WeChat account.

This is only an illustration. She could just as easily buy directly in a Douyin livestream, complete the whole purchase on Xiaohongshu, or never leave a single platform.

What the example shows is a defining feature of Chinese retail: discovering a product, comparing it, buying it and staying in touch with the brand do not necessarily happen in the same place.

In traditional retail, consumers learn about a brand through advertising and then buy in a store. In China today, content platforms influence purchase decisions, shopping platforms create demand through livestreams, and social ecosystems handle both transactions and customer service. These functions increasingly overlap.

That is why the popular shorthand, “Xiaohongshu for awareness, Douyin for promotion, Tmall for sales, WeChat for loyalty”, no longer holds up. It is easy to remember, but it ignores the fact that each ecosystem can take part in several stages of the purchase. The real differences lie in how each one organises content, products, transactions and customer relationships. To see them, we need to look at five different retail ecosystems.

Taobao and Tmall: from product search to brand store operations

For many Chinese consumers, the most familiar way to shop is to search for a product, compare stores, read reviews and look for promotions. Taobao covers a very wide range of merchants and products, while Tmall focuses on branded, more standardised stores. Neither relies on search alone. Recommendations, livestreams, campaigns and content-led shopping features also shape how consumers find and buy products.

What is the commercial logic?

In the typical third-party merchant model, the platform provides product listings, search, recommendations, payment and related services. The party that actually sells to the consumer is the business entity behind the store.

This means that having a brand store on Tmall and having a distributor in China are two different things.

A European brand that wants a Tmall flagship store can have an eligible entity run the store, and it can hire a specialist e-commerce operator, known in China as a TP (Tmall Partner), to manage it day to day. A TP may handle store design, listings, advertising, campaigns, customer service and data analysis. It does not necessarily buy your products or carry inventory risk. If a brand only hires a TP, it still has to decide who the legal seller is and who handles inventory, imports, fulfilment and after-sales service.

A distributor works differently. Under a purchase-and-resale contract, the distributor buys the goods first and then sells them through its own network. The revenue structure and the allocation of risk are completely different from a TP arrangement.

What else should a foreign brand understand?

A domestic Tmall store and Tmall Global are not the same route into the market. Running a domestic store, importing through general trade and selling through cross-border e-commerce each come with their own requirements, depending on the product category, the operating entity and the transaction structure. Tmall Global provides a cross-border retail route for eligible overseas merchants, subject to platform requirements and applicable import regulations. It does not mean that every foreign product can be sold this way.

In the end, the platform provides the trading environment. The ability to actually sell the product still has to be built by the merchant and its partners.

JD.com: why one platform can mean two different retail relationships

One of JD’s defining features is that it runs both a self-operated retail business and a marketplace for third-party merchants. To the consumer, all products appear in the same shopping interface. To the brand, the commercial relationship behind them can be completely different.

Model one: the platform buys your product and resells it.

In the typical self-operated model, the brand or supplier sells goods to JD’s retail purchasing entity, and JD then sells them to consumers. This is similar to a traditional retailer buying from a brand. The brand negotiates purchase prices, payment terms, supply conditions and inventory responsibilities, and it earns supply revenue rather than the full retail price paid by the consumer. In a typical purchase-and-resale arrangement like this, the retailer generally has greater control over consumer-facing pricing and promotions, within contractual and legal limits.

Model two: a third-party merchant sells through the platform.

Eligible merchants can also run their own stores on JD. The platform provides the transaction and commercial infrastructure, while the store operator is responsible for selling, operations and after-sales service. The brand can run the store itself or work with a local partner.

So when a European company says, “Our product is now on JD,” that sentence doesn’t describe the channel structure. It could mean JD’s retail business has bought the product, or that a third-party merchant is selling the brand on JD. The two situations have very different effects on cash flow, inventory and control over the channel.

A platform’s influence with consumers and the role it plays in a specific transaction are two separate questions. The same platform can be your customer in one model and simply the venue for someone else’s store in another. Without separating the two, it is hard to compare the costs and responsibilities of different channels.

Douyin: when content becomes the point of sale

If Taobao and Tmall show the link between search, stores and transactions, Douyin shows a different logic. Consumers may not be looking for a product at all, yet a piece of content makes them want to buy it.

A short video can show a product in real use. A livestream can demonstrate features, answer questions and close the sale in the same conversation. Discovering a product and buying it can happen in one content environment. Douyin is not only about short videos and livestreams, though. Its mall, search, product pages and brand-run livestreams let it serve both intentional shopping and content-driven impulse buying.

How do content and transactions connect?

Take a brand that sells pet products. It can create its own content and promote products through its brand account and livestream studio. It can also work with pet-focused creators who show the product in use. Consumers who see the content buy through the linked product listings.

In this setup, the brand, the merchant, the creators and a marketing agency may all contribute to one sale, but their roles are different. The merchant sells the product and fulfils the order. Creators produce content and promotion and are paid a content fee, a sales commission or both, depending on their agreement. MCNs, the agencies that manage creators, provide creator management, deal-making and content operations. None of them becomes your distributor just because they helped generate a sale.

Why a creator is not a distributor

Suppose an agency promises to line up fifty pet influencers to promote a European product. That could put the brand in front of a very large audience. The brand still needs answers to some basic questions. Who is the seller on the consumer’s order? Who holds the inventory? Who ships the goods and handles returns? How are the creators paid, and who pays for the marketing?

If the agency mainly provides content promotion, the brand is buying marketing capability. It is not buying an import and distribution system.

What has Douyin really changed?

It has shortened the distance between content and transaction. Brands used to advertise first and then wait for consumers to visit a retail channel. Now product demonstration, consumer interaction and purchase can all happen on the same platform.

That doesn’t mean every product suits livestream selling. A brand still has to ask whether its product is easy to demonstrate, whether customers need time to compare options, whether its margins can cover the marketing cost, and whether the merchant behind the sale can fulfil orders reliably.

The lesson from Douyin is not that every brand needs a livestreamer. Content has become a retail capability in its own right, one that can lead directly to a purchase.

Xiaohongshu: when consumer experience becomes part of the decision

Many people open Xiaohongshu, also known internationally as RedNote, without any intention of buying right away. They come to learn from other people’s experiences, compare options, explore a lifestyle, or work out whether a product is right for them.

Before buying a home beauty device, a consumer may want to see real experiences from other users. Before buying a pet product, she wants to know whether it is easy to clean and whether pets actually like it. These questions are hard to answer with a brand’s own product description. User experiences, content recommendations and community discussion can therefore weigh heavily on the decision.

Is Xiaohongshu just a marketing platform?

No. Besides its community content, Xiaohongshu has merchant stores, product posts, livestreams by “buyers” and other in-app ways to purchase. Consumers can learn about a product and buy it in the same place. For the right category and business set-up, Xiaohongshu can be where the transaction happens, not only a source of traffic for other platforms.

Why the word “buyer” causes confusion

In European retail, a buyer is the person who purchases stock for a retailer. In Xiaohongshu’s content-commerce ecosystem, a maishou (买手) may be a creator or product curator who selects and recommends products through content and livestreams, without necessarily purchasing or holding inventory.

So when a Chinese agency tells a foreign brand, “We can arrange Xiaohongshu buyers to sell your product,” the brand first needs to know which kind of relationship this is. Will the buyer purchase and resell the goods, or earn a fee or commission for recommending them? This isn’t a translation issue. It is the difference between two entirely different contracts.

What is worth studying on Xiaohongshu?

It shows how consumer experience, community content and transactions connect. Whether consumers trust a product depends not only on the brand’s own messaging, but also on how other users discuss, show and rate it. That doesn’t mean posting content is enough to generate sales. Whether the content is credible, whether it suits the target customer, and whether it connects to a compliant way of buying and delivering the product still determine the result.

For foreign brands, the real value of Xiaohongshu goes beyond visibility. It is a place to understand how consumers build trust in a product through real experience, comparison and community discussion.

WeChat: from a single sale to a long-term customer relationship

WeChat is different from the other platforms. It is a transaction environment, but above all it is the digital ecosystem Chinese consumers use every day to communicate and access services. Channels (视频号, WeChat’s video feature), WeChat Store (微信小店), Mini Programs, Official Accounts, WeCom and group chats can each support content distribution, transactions, brand communication, customer service and membership programmes. Together they give brands a way to build a lasting relationship that extends beyond the purchase.

Opening a WeChat store, however, does not bring customers by itself.

Why a store doesn’t automatically mean sales

Imagine a European brand that has just entered China. It has no Chinese social media audience, no local customers and no brand awareness. A service provider suggests building a WeChat store and a membership system. Technically, that is entirely possible. But once the store is ready, who is going to buy?

Without a clear way of acquiring customers, the store is simply a tool that can process transactions. The brand still needs content, advertising, other sales channels, existing customers or partners to bring in its first buyers. Only then can it start building long-term relationships through after-sales service, membership benefits and ongoing communication.

Is WeChat the same as “private domain”?

Not quite. “Private domain” (私域) is better understood as a capability: maintaining an ongoing relationship with customers within the limits set by law, user consent and platform rules. It doesn’t mean owning customers’ personal data, and it certainly doesn’t mean unlimited freedom to push advertising. WeChat also has ways to reach new consumers through content recommendations, while Tmall, Xiaohongshu and other platforms offer their own follower, membership and repeat-purchase tools. Public and private traffic are not two separate camps of platforms.

For a foreign brand, the more useful questions are these. Where will customers come from? Why would they buy the first time? What lasting value can the brand offer after the purchase? Who manages the relationship, and how can the related data be used lawfully?

The lesson from WeChat is that a sale doesn’t end when the order is completed. Long-term service and relationship management are part of the retail system itself.

Five ecosystems side by side

This table is not a ranking, and it can’t tell you which platform is best for your product. The same platform can be worth very different things to brands with different categories, price points, target customers and capabilities. There is also a great deal of overlap: Taobao and Tmall have content and livestreams, Douyin and Xiaohongshu have search and stores, and WeChat can help brands reach new customers.

What the table offers is a way of looking at the market. Before choosing a platform, understand the commercial mechanism behind it.

The answer: five questions to ask before you sign

So, who actually sells your product in China?

It might be an importer or a distributor. It might be a platform’s own retail business, or a third-party store run by the brand or its partner. TPs, MCNs, creators and other service providers handle store operations, marketing or customer service. All of them may help you sell, but they are not the same kind of business partner.

Behind these roles are four jobs that someone has to own: product and inventory, transaction and sale, demand and marketing, and fulfilment and customer relationship. They don’t have to sit with four different companies, but each one has to be clearly assigned.

So when a Chinese company tells you, “We can help you sell in China,” I would start with five questions:

1. Who buys the inventory? Who purchases the goods, who holds the stock, and who carries the inventory risk?

2. Who is the actual seller? Who is the consumer buying from, and who is responsible for orders, refunds and after-sales service?

3. Who creates demand? Who brings in customers, where does the traffic come from, and who pays for the marketing?

4. Who manages the customer relationship? Who provides customer service and runs membership programmes, and what business data can the brand lawfully use?

5. Who gets paid, and who bears the risk? Is the partner earning a margin, a service fee or a commission, and which costs and risks stay with the brand?

These questions won’t produce one platform answer that fits every company. They will help you see whether what you need is distribution capability, retail operations, content marketing, or a set of partners working together.

Don’t choose a platform first and look for a business model afterwards. Decide who is responsible for the product, the transaction, the customer and the risk, and then choose the platforms best suited to running that model.

Understanding Chinese retail is not about memorising app names

What is really worth studying in Chinese retail is not how many platforms, livestreams or creators it has. It is how product search, content, community trust, transactions, logistics and customer service are organised into different commercial systems.

For a consumer, buying a product may take only a few taps. For a foreign company preparing to enter China, those few taps may involve several business entities, each with its own contracts, fees and responsibilities.

So the next time someone tells you, “We can bring your product into the Chinese market,” it is worth asking one question first: which part of this business are you actually responsible for?

In China, what matters most is not which app your product appears on. It is who actually sells it, who helps consumers discover it, who manages the relationship with them, and who bears the costs and risks of the business.

Next week: The consumer pays RMB 1,100. Where does the money actually go? We will follow the money through distribution, brand-run stores, platform self-operated retail and creator-led sales, and look at why higher sales don’t always mean higher profit.

The China Question by BergBlick: one practical question, one useful answer, every week.

From market insight to market execution

Understanding a market is only the beginning. The real challenge is finding the right commercial partners, developing sales channels and turning market opportunities into business.

Through BergBlick, I focus on China market intelligence across outdoor and lifestyle products, consumer goods and retail, and healthcare.

I also collaborate with JustRight Global on international market expansion. Its executive-led approach brings together experienced commercial leaders, industry networks and local execution resources. The goal is to help companies develop distributors, build sales operations and establish a commercial presence in new markets, without necessarily building a full local management team from day one.

Whether your next market is China, the US, the UK, Australia or elsewhere, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and tell me about your product and expansion plans.

Note: Shopping journeys and prices in this article are illustrative and explain commercial mechanisms. They are not consumer data or pricing advice. Platform eligibility, fees, fulfilment and cross-border rules change over time, and business decisions should be based on the latest official rules and contracts.