Amazon.com, Inc.'s Chinese joint venture is in talks for a merger with local e-commerce firm Kaola, which sells imported products in the Asian country, business magazine Caijing reported on Tuesday.
Kaola, owned by NetEase, Inc., sells apparel, household appliances and other products, and it is the biggest among Chinese shopping sites that focus on imported goods, followed by Tmall Global and JD Worldwide, according to a report.
It buys goods directly from overseas manufacturers, and last year, it imported more than 5,000 brands from 80 countries.
Competition With Home-Grown Rivals
Amazon has been trying to push into China and compete head-on with home-grown rivals Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com, but so far, the Seattle-based online retailer has not made any significant headway in the country.
As of mid-2018, Alibaba led the e-commerce market in China, with a 58.2% share, while Amazon was a distant seventh, with a less-than-1% market share, according to research firm eMarketer.
Amazon did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the Caijing report. NetEase declined to comment.
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