ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that Zhejiang ITOCHU-SNIFF Supply Chain Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Hangzhou, China; Wu Ye Biao, representative; hereinafter "ITONIFF") was established in September 2023 as a joint venture with Hangzhou Sniff Technology Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Hangzhou, China; Wu Ye Biao, representative; hereinafter "SNIFF"), through the subsidiary ITOCHU TEXTILE (CHINA)CO., LTD. (headquartered in Shanghai, China; Go Mimura, representative; hereinafter "ITS"). In November 2023, ITONIFF launched the BtoB cross-border service "THE CKB X," which is aimed at large Japanese retailers and allows for smooth procurement of products available within China.

In 2015, SNIFF launched the BtoB cross-border EC service "THE CKB," which is mainly aimed at Japanese EC mall stores and allows for small-lot, flexible procurement of apparel products and goods for everyday life available at all kinds of Chinese EC malls. "THE CKB" handles a vast number of products at about 4 billion, acting as a one-stop service that includes all steps necessary for product procurement, ranging from quality management through inspections and repairs to imports/exports through international transportation and storage. The service already has more than 40,000 paying corporate members and is highly rated, with SNIFF having concluded a strategic partnership agreement with Alibaba (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Hangzhou, China; Wang Hai, representative; hereinafter "Alibaba"), an affiliate of the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. targeting the Japanese market via China's biggest BtoB EC mall "1688.com."

"THE CKB X" is a new BtoB cross-border EC service that customizes "THE CKB" to suit large Japanese retailers better. It has been designed in detail to facilitate smoother product procurement through coordination with corporate procurement systems, improved UI (user interface), and a dedicated support team. Moreover, AI use through the partnership between SNIFF and the Alibaba Group enables a narrowing of suppliers and products to suit Japanese market needs as well as product recommendation functionality on "1688.com.". Don Quijote Co., Ltd., run by Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation, has already decided to join the service with the intention to use it to procure apparel products, goods for everyday life, and such. Moreover, SNIFF is setting up a new joint venture with the e-commerce comprehensive support company Itsumo Inc. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Mamoru Sakamoto, President & Chief Executive Officer) to provide the existing service "THE CKB."

ITOCHU's Brand-new Deal 2023, its medium-term management plan, includes "realizing business transformation by shifting to a market-oriented perspective" as one of its Basic Policies. Originally a Textile Company, ITOCHU has engaged in OEM/ODM businesses involving all kinds of apparel products and goods for everyday life. Increasing diversification and segmentation of consumer behavior in recent years has amplified tendencies to want to pick better products from bigger lineups, which is why we are launching "THE CKB X" as a new product procurement option that meets market needs, as part of our efforts to evolve our business models. In the future, we will enhance our earnings platform further by expanding global services, for example by procuring products from not only China but also South Korea, Europe, and America as well as making Japanese products procurable in other countries across the globe.