Alibaba ramps up Australian focus

Internet Retailing

19th Jul 2016

Alibaba Group’s president Michael Evans, who leads the e-commerce giant’s efforts to grow the business outside of China, kicks off a roadshow this week in Australia and New Zealand.

Evans will meet with senior business, industry and government figures in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Wellington as part of Alibaba Group’s ANZ expansion.

In April Alibaba announced plans to open a local office in the second half of 2016.

“We believe the international growth opportunity for Alibaba Group is enormous,” said Evans. “ANZ is one of our key markets and a stronger presence here will advance our global goal of serving two billion consumers, while supporting tens of millions of small businesses, brands and retailers across the world.”

While in the country, Evans will be promoting Alibaba’s Tmall platform. Currently there are 1,300 Australian brands on Tmall and Tmall Global combined, 80 per cent of which entered China for the first time through these platforms. Thanks to Chinese demand for Australian products, Evans believes there is still huge potential for growth for ANZ brands on Tmall.

Evans will also be talking up the wider Alibaba infrastructure which underpins its e-commerce operations to enable international expansion.

“In Australia and New Zealand, Alibaba Group is best known for its e-commerce platforms, which are backed by our infrastructural support in areas of payment, cloud, digital entertainment and travel logistics. These services give companies the tools they need to access international consumers, while at the same time improving the experience of consumers who want to shop globally,” Evans said.

Alibaba has begun building a local team, which is lead by Maggie Zhou, MD, and benefit from the experience of John O ‘Loghlen, business development director, and James Hudson, director of corporate affairs and marketing.

“With a local office and expanded team, we will be well-positioned to support Australian and New Zealand merchants already on our platforms, as well as new merchants looking to expand into China,” said Maggie Zhou, MD Alibaba Australia.

“We have an active consumer base of 423 million across our China retail platforms where they have access to authentic and quality products from countries around the world. By working together with brands and retailers, we want to be an enabling force for local businesses and entrepreneurs striving for success.”

“As Alibaba ANZ expands, we will also need to form quality partnerships with government and industry. Our team will be working with local market leaders who can provide the expertise and leverage to improve our services and ensure we deliver them as promptly as possible,” Zhou said.