Tmall Global to add 1,000 new international brands to China

Tmall Global is expanding its efforts to help international brands reach China, with the aim of adding 1,000 new brands onto its e-commerce platform in the coming 12 months.

The brand-incubation plan, announced through Tmall Global’s Global Partners Summit, is supported by a pledge of 200 billion US dollars, as part of its five-year-import initiative that the Alibaba platform unveiled at the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai in 2018.

Through the incubation centre, Tmall Global will be offering international brands a series of tools, incentives and campaigns to help them “flourish” in China.

“We’ve seen more and more brands choosing Tmall Global as their favoured platform to tap into the China market,” explains Alvin Liu, president of Tmall import and export. “These brands quickly see the importance of the digital analytics we provide to better understand the Chinese consumers’ preferences and develop relevant strategies for their online business ­– and even to bolster their offline business.”

To speed up the process, Tmall Global’s incubator programme is rolling out an English-language customer-service and self-service registration system for brands, and the platform will ensure new storefronts will open within 30 days of registration.

For brands new to Tmall Global, which the company defines as having registered in the past 12 months, the incubation centre will serve as a free bridge to sell to the Chinese market, and reach what it calls China’s “middle class”, which is already bigger than the entire US population and is set to double over the next several years, who are interested in overseas brands.

Tmall Global’s aim is to help each new brand reach a Gross Merchandise Volume of 1 million Ren Min Bi within their first 90 days in the incubation programme, by providing brands with “assignments to accelerate the enthusiasm” of its brand. Company’s that hit pre-agreed targets will be upgraded to a higher level and be offered added benefits, such as commission fee reduction, and opportunities to participate in special events and programmes.

In addition, on the 21st of each month, top-performing brands in the incubation programme will have access to livestreaming campaigns set up specifically for them and promoted on the Taobao Live channel.

Tmall Global last year piloted the incubation programme prior to its wider rollout, its top sellers were in the cosmetics, medical care and personal care product categories, including brands such as Fenty Beauty, DPC and Brandfree.

According to Tmall Global, over 25,000 brands from 92 countries and regions have come onto the platform, with more than 80 percent of them are entering the Chinese market for the first time.