Japanese mail order firm partnering with Baidu

Nissen Holdings Co., a major mail-order firm, will
soon begin working with Baidu Inc., China's leading
Internet search engine, to deliver online marketing
in that country, The Nikkei reported in its Sunday
edition.

By next month, Nissen's 10,000 clothing items will
be advertised on the Baidu Web site, allowing Internet
users to click and order. Many Japanese retailers
have tried to market products online to Chinese
consumers, but few have succeeded, due to lack of
brand recognition in China. Nissen hopes to overcome
this issue by working with Baidu to develop a Chinese
customer base for itself. Baidu controls as much as 70%
of China's search-engine market, and is the world's
third-largest player behind the U.S.'s Google Inc. and
Yahoo Inc.

In turn, Baidu expects the partnership to bolster the
appeal of its Web site and hopes that Nissen's know-how
will help it develop an effective overall online-marketing
system.

Nissen will pay Baidu commissions according to the
number of visitors to the Baidu Web site. The Japanese
firm hopes the relationship will generate 500 million yen
in sales the first year, and Y3 billion the third year.