China E-Commerce
Why Foreign Brands Use Tmall
When considering selling their products in China, foreign companies simply cannot ignore the influence and significance that Tmall has on the market. The site attracts hundreds of millions of Chinese shoppers, a fact that should not be overlooked. Asos, having officially entered China a few months ago with a bit of a thud, has realized this and will finally be opening its official Tmall flagship store in April, offering a 50% off cardigan sweater to attract customers. Tmall, with over 2,000 foreign brands and 70,000 sellers in total, dominates 45% of the B2C e-commerce sales in China. Alibaba’s impending IPO, which is slated to be one of the biggest public offerings in U.S. history, has the potential to increase the platform’s exposure and allow it to more easily attract foreign brands. With a growing Chinese middle class comes the desire for more foreign goods.
Source: Wall Street Journal
China E-Commerce
Alibaba Invests $692 million in Chinese department store chain
Alibaba has invested $692 million USD in InTime Retail, which has 28 department stores and eight shopping malls across the nation. The deal will let Alipay users pay in-store using their mobile apps after syncing the app to virtual prepaid cards. Online changes will also occur. Tmall shoppers will be able to earn InTime member points at select stores, and InTime will ship merchandise to online buyers from their physical stores. Doing this will shorten delivery times in some areas, and will also widen the range of international fashion brands offered to Tmall customers.
Source: Tech In Asia