Alibaba’s Tmall sees surge in new brands as foreign merchants pile in ahead of Singles’ Day
In the third quarter of this year, the number of brands that opened official stores on Tmall surged by 70 per cent from the previous quarter
Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall shopping platform saw the number of new brands surge by 239 per cent from August to September, as foreign merchants rushed to gain a foothold on China’s largest online marketplace before the upcoming Singles’ Day shopping festival.
In the third quarter, the number of brands that opened official stores on Tmall surged by 70 per cent from the previous quarter, with September the best-performing month, according to data from Taobao and Tmall Group, the domestic e-commerce unit of Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post.
Tmall is Alibaba’s premium online shopping platform that mainly hosts established brands. All Tmall stores are directly accessible from both Taobao and Tmall apps. The two platforms have a combined market share of over 50 per cent in China’s e-commerce landscape, according to third-party research data.
The surge in new stores comes as foreign brands, including Japanese toys based on the manga series Chiikawa, are rushing to debut on the platform in a bid to claim a spot in the world’s second-largest consumer market. Since the start of this year, over 1,700 foreign brands have opened their first store on Tmall Global - the part of Tmall where consumers in China cab access direct imports - according to the Taobao and Tmall Group.
Chiikawa, which has captivated many Chinese youth with its adorable characters over the past few months, opened its first Tmall store in late September, with products such as plush accessories and stuffed toys up for sale. The store reaped commercial success on its first day with some products selling out “within seconds”, achieving over 5 million yuan (US$708,135) in sales on the day.
