Macy’s Looks to China, Invests in E-tailer VIPStore

[UPDATE: The original version of this post confused VIPShop and VIPStore, which are two different companies. The first paragraph has been altered to correct this]

U.S. retailer Macy’s (NYSE:M) has made a move into China today by investing in the Chinese discount e-commerce site VIPStore, which is known as Jiapin.com to Chinese consumers. The investment sum is US$15 million, led by Macy’s along with Intel Capital.

The deal will allow Macy’s to sell clothing items on VIPStore’s fashion-oriented site, Omei.com. The company’s press release states, however, that that won’t occur until spring 2013.

Macy’s CEO, Terry J. Lundgren, conceded that “We still have a great deal to learn about the shopping patterns and merchandise preferences of consumers in China.” He added:

Our relationship with VIPStore will allow us to gain additional experience in the fast-growing Chinese market, and to better understand how consumers across China interact with Macy’s and the products we sell.

Mr. Lundgren also said that the new luxury-oriented Omei site in China would be “a good match for our current interests” in that country.

China’s e-commerce industry is well advanced to the stage that it’s a massively cut-throat market. Few overseas retailers or e-tailers have a fairly sizeable stake in the country, except perhaps Amazon China, and Walmart with its major investments in Yihaodian, the food-based online retailer. Chinese authorities estimate that the country’s e-commerce industry will be worth 18 trillion RMB ($2.8 trillion) in 2015.