Alibaba To Expand Global Footprints To Australia

Alibaba will soon be making its way to Australia.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is very much focused to grow and improve its international market presence in the coming times. The online retailer does dominate the domestic e-commerce market however being one of the biggest online shopping platforms for businesses and consumers it is not getting enough attention in the global markets. Alibaba recently came in news for expanding its global footprints to India and now the sources suggest that the biggest online shopping company of the world is all set to make its way to Australia in the upcoming months.

The Australian News reported that the Chinese tech giant quietly announced its plan regarding expanding services in the region. However analysts raised questions whether the presence of Alibaba Group will change the way how people shop in the region or how the industry will work. It is known that Alibaba is often referred as the Amazon of China. It is valued at a massive $197 billion (AUS$ 257 billion) and is a collection of e-commerce, cloud computing, media and payment assets. Furthermore, the group of companies that run under the Chinese e-commerce leader is accountable for 60 percent of all the Chinese online sales.

For that matter, Alibaba recently took over Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to become the world’s largest retailer. The company has easily made Jack Ma, the founder, the richest man in Asia. Jack Ma now has a net worth of $33.3 billion (AUS$ 43.6 billion).

Irrespective of not being more famous in the international market, most global consumers are familiar with Alibaba’s English language online marketplace for consumers known as Aliexpress. Australian customers do know about this platform as well which sells almost everything from apparel, fashion to electronics, kids’ toys and camping gears etc. The free shipping option along with really low prices when compare to other marketplaces have made it common amongst the online shopper however many believe that the online platforms have counterfeit goods in it.

An Australian shop owner Rudd who runs a Jessica’s suitcase which deals in mother and baby products was recently listed as a shop in Alibaba’s Tmall. Reportedly, the store made more than $100,000 in sales in its first month only.

Not only this but many Australian businessmen are doing business and running their own shops on Tmall. Australian customers can buy from any of Alibaba’s sites using Alipay vouchers purchased at Australia Post. Many do not know about the reach and influence of Alibaba and its businesses. The managing director of Think China, Benjamin Sun, said in a statement that its operations are more than just business and consumer shopping platforms.

He told the Australian News, “We need to understand the importance of this organization. Not only in e-commerce but also the media as well as payment solutions. If you decide to have a Chinese website, there is secure web hosting. At the moment, we know lots of sites wouldn’t load properly in China, where finding a reliable server is very important. AlibabaHost has a cheap solution that costs $100 a year.”