Alibaba’s Tmall Global Ramps up Support for Foreign Brands Localizing in China

On Jan. 19, Alibaba Group’s cross-border B2C platform Tmall Global announced a new suite of solutions at the 2021 Tmall Global New Seller Virtual Summit to help global brands localize in China.

The 2021 Tmall Global New Seller Summit is the first virtual summit hosted by the platform spanning seven time zones from Jan. 19 to Jan. 21. During the virtual summit, Tmall Global introduced China’s cross-border e-commerce landscape and market insights using successful cases in the past. Brand owners can directly speak to Tmall Global’s business development experts to learn more about the localization process.

“Brands, particularly small- and medium-sized players that have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are trying to find new channels to grow. In China, e-commerce platforms such as Tmall Global are consumers’ preferred avenues for purchasing overseas products,” said Tmall Global’s general manager Maggie Liu. “Tmall Global is committed to providing a suite of solutions to help overseas sellers capture these opportunities and assisting the brands to bring quality products into China’s market.”

With Tmall Global’s new self-service portal, merchants of all sizes, even those who have little experience in Chinese e-commerce platform operation, can launch their storefronts on the platform within 30 days.

In addition to an efficient and smooth onboarding process, Tmall Global vowed to offer overseas brands tailored consultation, operations and content support, as well as other value-added services through Tmall Global’s extensive partner network worldwide. Tmall Global will also roll out region-specific programs to further support merchants who wish to establish a strong presence in China.

SEE ALSO: Gucci to Join Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion: Global Luxury Brands’ Next Step in China

By the end of December 2020, more than 29,000 brands across 5,800 categories had come onto the Tmall Global, in which over 80% of them are entering China for the first time, according to Tmall Global. The number of brands and merchants on Tmall Global as of September 30, 2020, grew at a double-digit rate year-over-year.

For merchants who want to test their product’s sales potential in China, they can start by utilizing Tmall Overseas Warehouses solution or Tmall Overseas Fulfillment (TOF), to set up the direct fulfillment to consumers. This model helps brands of all sizes to maintain inventory flexibility, lower logistics and storage costs. The year-to-date growth of TOF’s gross merchandise volume saw a nearly 200% increase for the nine months ended December 2020.

Currently, Tmall Global aims to offer a range of operational solutions to help overseas merchants find the most suitable business model for reaching Chinese consumers.