Cainiao continues to strengthen its international presence by securing large warehouse facilities in Europe, with some lease agreements spanning up to ten years. Notably in Spain, the company has leased a 37,000-square-meter warehouse, marking one of the seven largest warehousing property transactions in the country since last year.
Shuai Yong, Vice President of Cainiao and General Manager of its Global Supply Chain Division, revealed that Europe remains a key market for the company's ongoing investment in overseas warehousing and import operations. Since the beginning of this year, Cainiao has already launched four new warehouses across Europe, located in Daventry, UK; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; and Rokietno, Poland.
These new facilities serve multiple leading Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms while also supporting European merchants in selling goods to China through Cainiao's global supply chain network. The company further plans to develop a series of climbing robot-equipped warehouses in Europe, utilizing its self-developed logistics technology to enhance storage efficiency.
Recently, Cainiao unveiled its independently developed "ZeeBot" climbing robot, which can not only move rapidly on the ground but also directly climb shelves for storage and retrieval tasks. The climbing robot is now commercially available, with hundreds of units already operational at a cross-border logistics warehouse in Dongguan, Guangdong, serving a global top-tier e-commerce platform.
Over the past few years, Cainiao has undergone several strategic adjustments, emphasizing globalization, technological innovation, and market-oriented operations.
Overseas warehouses form a critical component of Cainiao's global supply chain infrastructure. It is reported that the company currently operates over 50 overseas warehouses across 18 countries and regions, including Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. These facilities provide comprehensive, end-to-end supply chain management solutions and warehousing services to numerous domestic and international brands and merchants across various sectors such as automotive parts, home goods, appliances, and furniture.
A notable characteristic of the current wave of Chinese companies expanding overseas is their focus on building global brands. Recent uncertainties in the external environment have also prompted more brands to shift from cross-border direct shipping to utilizing overseas warehouses.
Additionally, the foreign trade sector demonstrated an unusual pattern during the first quarter of this year, with typically slow seasons showing stronger-than-expected activity.
Customs statistics indicate that China's total goods trade import and export volume reached 11.84 trillion yuan in the first quarter, a 15% year-on-year increase, setting a new historical record for the period. Trade with developed economies like the EU maintained overall growth, while trade with regions including ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa saw growth rates exceeding double digits.
Data obtained from Cainiao shows that outbound shipments from its European overseas warehouses surged by 32% year-on-year during the first three months of this year.
E-commerce industry insiders noted that the accelerated adoption of "semi-hosted" models by Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms in Europe, coupled with growing European market acceptance of high-quality consumer electronics, has jointly driven increased demand for overseas warehousing. For instance, Cainiao's French warehouse serving a leading platform operated near full capacity utilization in the first quarter, with particularly strong replenishment demand observed in categories like smart home appliances, 3C digital products, automotive parts, and furniture.
To further expand its global logistics network, Cainiao – which previously faced setbacks in its IPO plans – now intends to utilize publicly offered REITs to optimize its assets and secure additional funding.
According to available information, Cainiao Group plans to apply for the issuance of publicly offered REITs using its Jiaxing Logistics Park project as the underlying asset. The application has been submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. On April 27, Alibaba also announced that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange confirmed on March 13 its eligibility to proceed with the proposed spin-off of infrastructure REITs on the Shenzhen exchange.
During its previous IPO attempt, Cainiao explicitly stated that the primary use of raised funds would be to further develop its international logistics capabilities and network. The upcoming implementation of publicly offered REITs is expected to provide additional momentum for Cainiao's globalization strategy.
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