Fung Retailing, with a global network of over 3,000 stores, and Alibaba Group recently formed a strategic partnership to bring more international lifestyle brands to mainland China.
This collaboration aims to meet the increasing demand of Chinese consumers, building on the strengths of both parties in online and offline retailing. At the same time, it will better serve global brands by leveraging Fung Retailing’s global portfolio of brands, offline retail channels and marketing know-how, as well as Alibaba’s ecosystem, digital retail leadership, technology, and consumer insights from Alibaba’s 600-plus million users.
Alibaba said in a statement that this partnership will help global brands tailor their product development and marketing strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of Chinese consumers. The brands can also draw on Alibaba’s new retail channels, including Tmall and Intime, as well as Fung Retailing’s offline stores, thereby reducing costs, risks, and the time traditionally associated with entering the China market.
As per the agreement, both companies will join forces in global brand recruitment and offer brands merchandising, marketing and omnichannel distribution services. This collaboration will focus on the mainland China market as a first step, and potentially expand to other regions riding on Alibaba’s platforms.
Speaking during the signing ceremony at the CIIE in Shanghai, Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said: “It is an honour to kick off full-scale strategic cooperation with Fung Retailing at the historic China International Import Expo. We endeavour 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 advantageous in brand and supply chain resources. We believe this partnership represents the beginning of a new chapter for New Retail.”
Fung Retailing Group Managing Director, Sabrina Fung, said retail is changing exponentially, so it’s important to stay ahead of the curve, which this agreement allows it to do.
“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,” said Fung. “In this evolving retail landscape, and faced with changing consumer behaviour and disruptive retail technologies, we are focused on developing new ways to do business.”
(Image L-R: Fung Retailing Group Managing Director, Sabrina Fung, Fung Group Chairman, Dr Victor Fung, Alibaba CEO, Daniel Zhang and Alibaba Vice President, Toby Xu.)