Overview

DHGate is an e-marketplace platform that focuses on business-to-business (B2B) sales based in China. DHGate is the first to market and the largest transactional cross-border business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplace in China. In addition, DHGate is an all-in-one e-marketplace platform with integrated services for international logistics, international payments and internet financing. The goal of this e-marketplace platform is to build the connection between small-to-medium businesses (SMB) based in China and potential buyers across the globe. DHGate enables potential buyers to purchase directly from the global manufacturers of the world's top brands with a vast selection of products. The categories of products listed on DHGate’s website include electronics, sports supplies, clothes, accessories and beauty products. Furthermore, it help to facilitate the sale of manufactured products from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to buyers by offering detailed customer support through email, telephone and chat services.

Founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DHGate

DHGate was founded by Diane Wang, the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. She is one of the well-known top business stars in China. From 1993 to 1999, she served as the Marketing Service Manager and Head of Business Development Department for Microsoft (China) Corporation. She was also served as Country Marketing Director of Cisco Systems and responsible to manage marketing communication strategy and execution in China. After leaving Microsoft, she became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Joyo.com, the largest online bookstore and music store in China at that time. Joyo was then acquired by Amazon and relaunched as Amazon China. Eventually, she founded DHGate in year 2004.

DHGate is a registered wholesale company based in Beijing, China. DHGate launched its multilingual websites for its cross-border warehouses and operates in ten languages including English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Italian, German, French and Arabic. Majority of the consumers are located in North America and Europe. Since DHGate is an internet public e-marketplace, any transaction will be transacted on the e-marketplace. In order to provide products and services locally, DHGate encourages the grand opening of its cross-border warehouses.

Silk Road Dunhuang, China

DHgate has been serving international buyers and sellers worldwide since year 2004. DHGate was created by Diane Wang in August 2004. The name of “DH” refers to Dunhuang, a Chinese city in the Gansu province. The city was a strategic location along the Silk Road and has a network of trade routes which connected China to the rest of the world. In year 2011, the company had approximately 25 million listings of products from 900,000 Chinese suppliers. There are also 4 million buyers from 230 different countries registered on the e-marketplace. The company worked closely with PayPal and had a strategic partnership with them until 2012. Unfortunately, the cooperation with PayPal was terminated on 6 August 2012 and the company no longer accepts PayPal payments on the website. The company website grew quickly from 2009 to 2012 and landed it on the 2009 Deloitte list for China’s Top 50 Fast Growing Enterprises. Besides, DHGate worked closely with China Construction Bank to provide a microloan service to those users with good record on the website. The company also worked closely with the partners for payment, logistics, and other services which included American Express, Visa, MasterCard, DHL, UPS, and FedEx.

Why DHGate?

DHGate provides six primary value propositions: 

Accessibility
DHGate creates accessibility by facilitating trade which allows cross-border consumers to purchase products directly from Chinese wholesalers and manufacturers. It also allows the wholesalers and manufacturers to promote their goods on the e-marketplace. The company also provides different versions of its website in ten languages including English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Italian, German, French and Arabic. Lastly, it accepts different forms of online payment which include numerous credit cards, online bank transfer services, and eWallets.

Convenience

DHGate brings convenience to consumers by providing a one-stop source for them. It provides efficient and manageable purchase process by covering every phase of the supply chain process, offering logistics, internet financing, international payment, and escrow protection services.

Customization

DHGate provides customization service for consumers to personalize their design on the products. Eventually, DHGate would provide suggestions to consumers on whether there is any design restriction on the item and what is the design suitable to the item.

Cost reduction

DHGate reduces costs for buyers by offering the best deals online called “Daily Deals” that provide the deepest discounts on items as high as 75% off. Generally, it touts lower prices for the hottest items which can be found elsewhere.

Risk reduction

DHGate reduces risk through its Escrow buyer protection system. Through this system, all payment information made by customers is encrypted and not given directly to the seller. Payments are not released to vendors until buyers confirm that they have received the products and satisfied with the quality of their product. Customers can receive a refund if they do not get the orders that they have placed.

Brand

DHGate has built a strong brand as a result of its success. Nowadays, it has over 10 million individual buyers from over 230 countries with over 2 million completed transactions on every three seconds each. Moreover, it has over 1.2 million vendors with 40 million product listings. Eventually, it has won many awards including ranked in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia-Pacific in year 2009, ranked in the China Industrial E-commerce Dotcom Top 100 in year 2010 and ranking as Number One in B2B Dotcom Power’s China E-Commerce Culture Festival in year 2011.