“The Chinese consumer is hungry for new brands”

Possibilities of electronic commerce and digital internationalization

Interview with Ângela Lin, head of business development at Tmall Global in Spain and Portugal.

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With more and more Spanish companies becoming interested in the possibilities of electronic commerce and digital internationalization, today we analyze in this interview space Foreign Company what is Tmall, the marketplace of the Alibaba group that allows brands from all over the world to market their products in the Chinese market.

 

To do this, we interviewed Ângela Lin, head of business development at Tmall Global in Spain and Portugal.

 

For those who don't know you, could you tell us what Tmall is?

 

Ângela Lin: “To contextualize, I would like to give a few touches on Alibaba, a group of which Tmall is a part, which is a global technology company, cloud solutions, payment solutions, marketing and a series of marketplaces, both B2B and B2C. On the b2c platforms there is Aliexpress, which is better known in Spain and for the Chinese market there is Tmall Global.

 

Tmall Global is the largest cross-border B2C ecommerce platform in China; We have more than 700 million Chinese consumers, more than 25.000 international brands, 80% have entered China through Tmall Global. “It is a cross-border model, a Spanish brand can connect with Chinese consumers directly from Spain.”

 

How is Tmall working right now? Is it fully operational? Any impact as a result of the covid-19 crisis?

 

TO THE: “The coronavirus crisis is affecting the entire world. Alibaba's priority has been the safety and health of employees and its partners. It has implemented a series of measures to help customers, merchants and consumers, and Tmall global is fully operational. In fact has grown in sales volume by 45% compared to the same period last year.

 

In China, e-commerce is much more developed. The consumer's purchasing habit is much more digital, the e-commerce market reaches 1,9 trillion dollars, three times larger than e-commerce in the US.

 

I take this opportunity to recommend to Spanish brands that are going through this coronovirus crisis that China is an opportunity. Spanish companies can and must transform, reinvent themselves, start with e-commerce and also export, and Tmall can help them.”

 

How many Spanish companies currently sell on the marketplace and which sectors are the most present?

 

TO THE: “Today there are more than 150 Spanish brands that have their own flagship store, their own official store on the platform. They are brands from all sectors, in fashion, home, cosmetics, personal care, food, health and well-being… both large brands and smaller brands.”

 

¿How does Tmall work? What is the process to start selling through this marketplace?

 

TO THE: “We recommend that the company know its own product well. It is important to know what the unique selling point of the product is. Retail today in China is more, it is entertainment, consumers are looking for new products, the Chinese consumer is hungry for new brands.

 

It is a set of three legs: the brand, the owners of the product, decide the strategy, pricing, what the products are; on the other hand Tmall Global that has all the technological infrastructure to support the connection between brand and consumer, all logistics, payment methods, promotional campaigns; and then a Chinese team would be needed, who knows the world of ecommerce in China, a chinese agency While not part of the Alibaba Group, Tmall Global maintains a list of these partners who have experience helping brands manage their online presence. They would essentially be the brand's team in China. What do they do? Store management, customer service—which is crucial in the Chinese market—and more. They'll help create new content and tailor existing content to Chinese tastes. They'll also manage the entire marketing plan, as well as store data and customer profiles.

 

Recommendations we give to brands: have a team dedicated to this project, Opening a store on Tmall Global is not simply adding an online channel, is to help the brand enter a new, different market, full of opportunities.

 

It is important that this project is a priority project for the company, there is a significant investment to enter the Chinese market and build that brand in China.

 

And the relationship between the brand and the TP (the Tmall partner) is also very important to be able to build a good relationship between the teams, have good communication.

 

On the other hand, marketing is important, knowing the consumer and the market well, we and the TP are also there to help.

 

And finally always think long term, it is a project to build your brand in China to sell in the long term.”

 

Does the Chinese consumer know what the Spain brand is, do they identify the Spanish product with any characteristic, such as quality?

 

AL “The Chinese consumer is a young, international consumer, they live in urban areas like Shanghai or Beijing, they travel a lot, and the more they travel, the more information they have about global brands. He is constantly looking for new brands. He associates international brands with quality products, and Tmall Global allows them to have access to the world's best brands in the palm of their hand.  Spanish brands have managed to build made in Spain as a seal of quality.

 

What type of products are they looking for? 70% of Tmall Global consumers are women, everything related to cosmetics and beauty is in high demand, and there the made in Spain seal is known.

 

On the other hand, there are also millennials, workers who have little time and are looking for wellness and health products; and we are acquiring new consumers. We now see a very large penetration in very young consumers, post 90, post 2000, very active online on social networks, who are not only looking for big brands, but also less well-known, more authentic brands, and that gives a lot of opportunity to companies. Spanish. “We also see growth in a consumer from less developed areas of China.” 

 

A question about the logistical aspects of selling online internationally, who would be in charge of the logistics, import and transportation arrangements?

 

TO THE: “Tmall Goblal belongs to the Alibaba group and within it there are companies and services of various types, including logistics, with warehouses in various parts of the world, including free zones and in China, and a shipping service from that warehouse to the final consumer. When a brand opens its store on Tmall Global and a consumer places an order online, the logistics company will already be connected to Tmall Global, with the store, receive the order and send the product to the final consumer. And the consumer, through Alipay, which is the payment service, makes the payment to the bank account of the Spanish company, which will receive the payment directly.”