Kores
China Market Entry
A 139-year-old Austrian stationery brand needed a complete China operation — WFOE, e-commerce across five platforms, distributor network, local team, and full supply chain management. Built and managed as one integrated operation since 2022.
An Austrian heritage brand needed a full China operation built from scratch
Kores is an Austrian family-owned stationery and office supplies brand, founded in 1887 and now in its fourth generation. Known for products like glue sticks, correction tapes, and Kolores colored pencils, the brand is present in over 85 countries with production facilities in Mexico and the Czech Republic.
When Kores decided to enter China, they needed more than a store on a platform. They needed a local company, a warehouse, a team, a distributor network, stores on five platforms, social media on every major channel, and someone to run all of it. They hired Shanghai Jungle to build and manage the entire operation.
Kores had no presence in China. No local entity, no trademark registration, no bank account, no warehouse, no import license, no team, no platform accounts, no distributor relationships. And stationery is a category where the Chinese market is both massive and intensely competitive — dominated by domestic brands with deep distribution networks and razor-thin margins.
For a foreign stationery brand, the path into China is more complex than for most consumer goods. You need a local entity to sign distributor contracts, issue domestic invoices, and import products through standard channels. You need a warehouse and fulfillment infrastructure that can handle both e-commerce orders and bulk shipments to distributors. You need someone managing the books, the customs declarations, the tax filings — all the operational infrastructure that makes a real business run.
Kores needed a single partner who could handle every piece: register the company, open the bank account, set up the warehouse, build the stores, hire the staff, manage the distributors, run the social media, produce the content, attend the trade shows, and handle the accounting. Not five vendors. One team.
What we built and manage
WFOE Registration and Company Setup
We registered a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) for Kores in China — their fully-owned local subsidiary. This included opening a corporate bank account, securing an import license, registering in the local tax system, and handling every administrative requirement for establishing a legal entity. The WFOE gives Kores direct control over their China business: pricing, distributor contracts, IP protection, and domestic invoicing.
E-Commerce Stores Across Five Platforms
We opened and operate flagship stores on Tmall and PDD (Pinduoduo), plus storefronts on WeChat, Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu), and Weibo. Each platform serves a different segment of the Chinese consumer market — Tmall for brand positioning and mid-to-premium buyers, PDD for volume and value-conscious consumers, WeChat for CRM and private traffic, and Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) for content-driven discovery. Store design, product listing, daily management, and campaign execution are all handled by our team.
Store Design, Management, and Operations
Every storefront was designed from scratch around Kores' brand identity — colorful, creative, and aligned with the brand's "Free your ideas" positioning. Mobile-first product pages, campaign banners, promotional visuals, and seasonal updates are produced and managed continuously. Daily operations include inventory coordination, pricing adjustments, product listing updates, and campaign execution during major shopping festivals like Singles' Day, 6.18, and Double 12.
Social Media Content and Posting
Full social media management across WeChat, Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu), Weibo, and Douyin. Content planning, creation, scheduling, and community management — all handled by our Shanghai team. Content covers product features, creative use cases, seasonal campaigns, back-to-school promotions, and behind-the-scenes brand stories adapted for each platform's format and audience expectations.
Distributor Relationship Management
We identify, negotiate with, and manage relationships with local distributors across China. This includes contract negotiation, order management, pricing coordination, and ongoing relationship maintenance. For a stationery brand, distributor networks are critical — they get products into physical retail channels, office supply chains, and school supply networks that e-commerce alone can't reach.
KOL and KOC Marketing
End-to-end influencer program covering both Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs). We identify creators in the stationery, school supplies, art, and lifestyle niches on Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) and Douyin, negotiate directly with no MCN middlemen, manage content briefs, coordinate product seeding, and track performance through to conversions. KOC seeding is particularly effective for stationery — authentic, user-generated reviews from real consumers build trust in a category where product quality and feel matter.
Local Team — Full-Time Staff
We hired dedicated full-time staff for Kores' China operation, working from the Shanghai Jungle offices under our direct management. This team handles daily operations, distributor communication, and market-facing activities — ensuring continuity and local knowledge that remote management from Austria could never replicate.
Warehouse, Import, and Fulfillment
Full warehouse management including product import from Kores' production facilities, customs declaration, duty payments, quality inspection, inventory storage, and order fulfillment for both e-commerce and distributor channels. We handle the complete supply chain on the ground — from the moment goods arrive at the Chinese port to the moment they reach the end customer or distributor warehouse.
Full E-Commerce Operations
Beyond store management, we run complete e-commerce operations: Mandarin-language customer service, order fulfillment, returns and after-sales support, and all import and customs declaration processes. Tmall and PDD both track seller performance metrics closely — response times, return rates, and customer satisfaction scores all affect search rankings and platform eligibility for promotions.
Local Accounting, Banking, and Trade Shows
We manage Kores' local accounting, tax filings, and bank operations — the operational backbone that keeps a WFOE compliant and functional in China. On top of this, we represent Kores at trade shows and industry exhibitions, handling booth logistics, product shipping, on-site staffing, and follow-up with leads and contacts generated at each event.
Full ownership and control through a WFOE
Kores chose the WFOE model to maintain direct control over their China business. This structure enables domestic invoicing, direct contracts with distributors, control over pricing and brand positioning, and full intellectual property protection — none of which are possible when selling through a distributor or cross-border-only model.
Shanghai Jungle registered the entity, opened the bank account, secured the import license, and operates the subsidiary on Kores' behalf. The company is fully owned by Kores but run day-to-day by our Shanghai team — the same structure we've built for other foreign brands entering China through a direct presence.
Localizing the Kores website into Chinese
Beyond platform stores and social media, we localized Kores' international website into Chinese — adapting not just the language but the content structure, product descriptions, and navigation to match how Chinese consumers browse and evaluate brands online.
A Chinese-language website serves as a credibility signal for distributors, retail buyers, and B2B partners who research foreign brands before committing to a relationship. It also provides a branded destination that reinforces the professional presence established across e-commerce and social platforms.
Five platforms, one team managing everything
Kores sells on Tmall, PDD (Pinduoduo), WeChat, Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu), and Weibo — each platform targeting a different consumer segment and serving a different purpose in the overall strategy. Tmall positions the brand and captures mid-to-premium buyers. PDD drives volume through value-oriented consumers. WeChat builds a private traffic community. Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) drives content-based discovery. Weibo provides broad brand awareness.
Running five platforms simultaneously requires coordinated inventory, consistent brand presentation adapted to each platform's format, and a team that understands the operational differences between each channel. All of this is managed by our Shanghai team as a single, integrated operation.
Building a distributor network from nothing
For a stationery brand, e-commerce alone doesn't win the market. Physical retail, office supply chains, and school supply distributors drive the majority of volume. We identify, negotiate with, and manage local distributors on Kores' behalf — building the network that gets products into the offline channels where stationery is actually purchased.
Each distributor relationship is managed directly: contract terms, pricing tiers, order volumes, and ongoing performance. Shanghai Jungle serves as Kores' on-the-ground representative in every distributor conversation — eliminating the time zone gaps and communication barriers that typically slow down foreign brands' offline expansion in China.
Representing Kores at China's industry exhibitions
We represent Kores at stationery, office supply, and consumer goods trade shows across China. Our team handles everything: booth design and setup, product shipping and display, on-site staffing for the full duration of each event, and systematic follow-up with every lead and contact generated.
Trade exhibitions in China are where distributor relationships start. The buyers, procurement teams, and regional distributors who attend these events are actively sourcing — and having a local team on the ground, speaking Mandarin, with product samples ready and pricing sheets in hand, is what turns a booth visit into a business relationship.
Image, video, and influencer content built for Chinese platforms
Our team produces all visual content for Kores' China operation — product photography, lifestyle imagery, short-form videos, and campaign assets — designed specifically for the formats and dimensions required by each platform. Stationery is inherently visual: color, texture, and creative application are what drive engagement, so content quality matters more than volume.
KOL and KOC campaigns run across Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) and Douyin, targeting creators in the stationery, art, school supplies, and creative lifestyle niches. For stationery, KOC seeding — sending products to micro-reviewers who post authentic, unscripted reviews — is particularly effective. Real consumers testing glue sticks, colored pencils, and correction tape on camera builds trust that polished brand content alone cannot.
Our Tmall flagship store for Kores
We designed, built, and operate Kores' Tmall flagship store — from storefront design and product listings to campaign execution and daily management. The store is the brand's primary e-commerce channel in China.
E-Commerce Operations
Full e-commerce operations across five platforms: store design, product listings, campaign execution, customer service in Mandarin, order fulfillment, returns, after-sales support, and import declarations. Everything from the storefront to the last-mile delivery, managed as one operation.
Distributor Management
Identifying, negotiating with, and managing local distributors across China. Contract terms, pricing coordination, order management, and relationship maintenance — building the offline distribution network that gets Kores products onto physical shelves.
KOL & KOC Marketing
Strategic influencer campaigns covering both KOLs and KOCs in stationery, art, and lifestyle niches. Direct negotiation with creators, content brief management, product seeding, and performance tracking. No MCN middlemen, no inflated costs.
Trade Shows
Full representation at stationery and office supply trade shows. Booth logistics, product shipping, on-site staffing, and lead follow-up. Trade shows connect Kores with distributors, retailers, and institutional buyers who source products at industry events.
Website Localization
Full localization of the Kores website into Chinese — not just translation but content adaptation, product categorization, and mobile optimization for Chinese browsers. A credibility signal for distributors and B2B partners researching the brand.
Full Operations Management
Warehouse management, import and customs declarations, local accounting and tax filings, bank operations, full-time staff management, and day-to-day coordination between China operations and Kores headquarters in Vienna. A complete business, not just a marketing service.
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