Alibaba launches Tmall retail site
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is now targeting the sizeable 500 million population from South-East Asia, namely, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan
With product offerings, promotions and logistics, these countries are experiencing rapid growth in terms of new users.
Following the launch of the new service, Tmall World, overseas Chinese users will soon be able to buy goods from Alibaba’s Tmall brand-to-consumer retail site.
The new platform aims to connect the over 100 million overseas Chinese shoppers worldwide with products offered on its flagship e-commerce portals, Taobao and Tmall.
The new programme will initially focus on countries and regions close to Alibaba’s home market, but will soon expand its product categories by adding Tmall Supermarket to existing offerings
According to a statement released by Alibaba, the company will provide end-to-end solutions including logistics, payment, and localisation support catering to each local market’s needs.
Under Tmall World, Chinese-speaking users in each of those markets can tap into Tmall and all other Alibaba marketplaces through PCs or mobile devices.
The firm plans on extending the Tmall World network to other countries in the future.
In April 2016, Alibaba agreed to buy a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada for approximately US$1 billion to accelerate expansion into the region.
Last November, Lazada acquired Singapore-based online grocery shopping site RedMart for a reported price of between US$30 million to US$40 million to add grocery products to its offerings.
The latest announcement is another step taken by the Chinese e-commerce giant to tap into the markets in Asia. In addition, Lazada recently launched Taobao Collection in Singapore and Malaysia to cater to local populations that don’t speak Chinese.
Alibaba plans to reach US$1 trillion in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) in 2020, and to serve two billion global consumers by 2036, said Alibaba CEO, Daniel Zhang.
