Strategic partnership to bring in more lifestyle brands
Alibaba Group and Fung Retailing announced a strategic partnership at the China International Import Expo to bring more international lifestyle brands to the Chinese market.
This collaboration aims to meet the increasing demand of Chinese consumers and also to better support global brands in their development in China with one-stop services, building on the strengths of both parties in online and offline retailing, said Victor Fung, group chairman of the Fung Group.
It is in line with the Chinese government's efforts to encourage imports and deepen its participation in world economic activities to expand opening up. Meanwhile, it also caters to the general trend of continued consumer upgrading in the Chinese market.
"We endeavor to help global brands expand their foothold in the China market by fully integrating Alibaba's strong capabilities in new retail, big data and technology with Fung Retailing's unparalleled advantages in brand and supply chain resources," said Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Group's CEO, at the signing ceremony.
Both companies will join forces in global brand recruitment and offer brands services in merchandising, marketing and omni-channel distribution. This collaboration will focus on the Chinese mainland market as a first step, and will potentially expand to other regions, according to the two companies.
Fung Retailing's Managing Director Sabrina Fung said retail is changing exponentially and it is important to stay ahead of the curve.
"Through this exciting strategic partnership with Alibaba, we will help customers navigate the full Chinese retail economy and reach China's 1.4 billion consumers more easily. In this evolving retail landscape, and faced with changing consumer behavior and disruptive retail technologies, we are focused on developing new ways to do business," said Fung.