The world’s biggest online shopping company is on its way to Australia

THE world’s biggest online shopping company has quietly announced plans to come to Australia. But what exactly is Alibaba?

Chinese eCommerce giant Alibaba is coming to Australia. Picture: Reuters

THE world’s biggest online shopping company has quietly announced plans to come to Australia.

But what exactly is Alibaba, and will its presence change the way we shop?

Often referred to as the Amazon of China, the $257 billion ($US197 billion) behemoth is a collection of eCommerce, cloud computing, payments and media assets.

The Alibaba group of companies accounts for 60 per cent of all Chinese online sales, and this month overtook Walmart as the world’s largest retailer. It has made founder Jack Ma the richest man in Asia, with a net worth of $43.6 billion ($US33.3 billion).

Australian shoppers will be most familiar with Aliexpress, an English language eBay rival that sells everything from fast fashion to smartphone accessories, kids’ toys and camping gear.

Its free shipping and crazy low prices have earned it a cult following, though some critics have labelled the wares “junk”, and the site has been plagued by suspected counterfeits.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma is Asia’s richest man. Source: Bloomberg News

For Chinese-speaking consumers there’s Taobao Marketplace and Tmall Global, where Jessica Rudd opened a store last year — tapping into a whopping 260 million registered shoppers.

Rudd’s Tmall store Jessica’s suitcase, which sells organic Australian mother and baby products, reportedly did more than $100,000 worth of sales in its first month.

Metcash, Australia’s largest food and liquor wholesaler, has a Tmall store, as do Bellamy’s, Blackmores, Chemist Warehouse and Woolworths, which sells Weetbix, Tim Tams, Long-life milk and, of course, infant formula.

Customers based in Australia can buy from any of Alibaba’s sites using Alipay vouchers purchased at Australia Post.

But Alibaba’s reach and influence goes far beyond the consumer shopping sites, explained Think China managing director Benjamin Sun.

“We need to understand the importance of this organisation,” Mr Sun told news.com.au.

“Not only in eCommerce, but also the media as well as payment solutions.”

Jessica Rudd’s Tmall store reportedly sold $100,000 in its first week.

Alibaba bought the South China Morning Post from real estate tycoon Robert Kuok in December, and it owns both Weibo, the popular Chinese social media site, and YouTube rival Youku Tudou.

For Australian retailers, a local Alibaba presence would bring an opportunity to better reach Chinese shoppers, Mr Sun said.

“For example, Australian eCommerce sites could think about whether to set up an Alipay account, which is free, for Chinese customers to be able to pay in RNB,” he said.

“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.”

Mr Sun said Alibaba’s local operation would boost trade “in both directions”.

Blackmores chief executive Christine Holgate, for whom Chinese shoppers make up one-third of all sales, said Alibaba “will provide a new positive competitive force in the Australian market”.

“I think it is a great opportunity, in particular to better serve the millions of Chinese people already living in Australia,” Ms Holgate said.

“The demand for this is reflected in the fact that there are over one million WeChat accounts registered here.”

She said Alibaba, which delivered “a superior online shopping experience”, would “provide more choice for Australian consumers”.

Alipay’s app and website allow Australian merchants to sell into China. Picture: Bloomberg

Its presence should also help more Australian businesses penetrate the lucrative Chinese market, Mr Sun said, while improving access to suppliers for companies that have their products manufactured by our largest trading partner.

“I think Australia is a very important part of Alibaba’s global strategy,” Mr Sun said.

“Because Alibaba wants to expand internationally, and Australia is a very important step for them to enter the US market later on.”

For their part, Alibaba had little to say beyond confirming plans to open an Australian office later this year, at a yet-to-be-announced location.

Regional managing director Maggie Zhou will head up the new office, with James Hudson, chief executive of the Australia China Business Council’s NSW branch, to take a senior role and John O’Loghlen appointed Director of Business Development.

“We see a lot of potential in the Australian market as Alibaba continues its globalisation efforts,” a company spokesman said in a statement.

“We aim to have dedicated country operations to work closely with Australian merchants and partners and it is our plan to establish an office in Australia in late 2016 to better help local brands and merchants to access to the Chinese consumer market.”

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