Alibaba confirmed that Amazon has opened a store on its Chinese marketplace Tmall – this despite the fact the two ecommerce behemoths are competitors in China. Amazon has operated a marketplace in China since 2004 after acquiring Joyu and rebranding it in 2011.
Amazon’s Tmall store is selling items such as footwear, food, beverages, kitchen products and toys and is set to officially launch in April. It features more than 1,000 imports, including some that are sold exclusively by Amazon in mainland China such as casual apparel retailer Panama Jack. According to Alibaba’s blog, “Orders will be fulfilled from warehouses in China and delivered by Amazon China’s local logistics services. Amazon China currently offers same-day and next-day delivery services in more than 1,400 cities and counties in China, as well as more than 5,000 self-pickup locations.”
An Alibaba spokesperson told EcommerceBytes that it welcomed Amazon to its marketplace. “Tmall has been a committed leader in providing quality products and services to consumers, and we continuously seek out partners who share the same passion. We welcome Amazon to the Alibaba ecosystem, and their presence will further broaden the selection of products and elevate the shopping experience for Chinese consumers on Tmall.”
Amazon’s Chinese-language store is found on this Tmall page.
Alibaba operates B2B marketplaces and also operates its eBay-like Taobao marketplace. It launched Tmall in order to help Western brands reach Chinese consumers and is reportedly the largest third-party platform for brands and retailers in terms of GMV.
