How Alibaba is growing Australian wine
Alibaba is now offering a B2C wine store that will stock Australian wines through its Tmall.com marketplace. Supported by Wine Australia and operated by Chinese wine e-retailer Vinehoo.com, it will begin by stocking 10 brands from eight regions.
Vinehoo.com will facilitate order fulfilment and will also provide a platform to build the profile of Australian wines and regions among Chinese consumers.
“The opening of the store is a landmark moment that builds on a year of strong growth for Australian wine in the Chinese export market,” said Andreas Clark, CEO of Wine Australia. “It opens up another commercial opportunity for Australian wineries to tap into China’s growing appreciation for our fine wines.”
“The food and wine culture in China continues to evolve, and there is increased demand from Chinese consumers for premium quality products online.
“Our support of Tmall’s flagship Australian wine store helps us capitalise on this growing interest in Australian wine and gives us the opportunity to further reinforce the message with consumers that wines of Australian provenance are of the highest quality.”
Maggie Zhou, Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand markets for Alibaba said: “The partnership between Tmall and Wine Australia will allow local winemakers to access the 434 million active consumers across our China retail marketplaces. As the domestic wine sector in China is yet to reach maturity and Australian wines are considered world-class and come at varied price points, the opportunity to sell to China’s burgeoning middle class is significant.
“Beyond established, well-recognised Australian wine brands, there is also strong potential for smaller producers to gain traction internationally. With the opening of Alibaba’s Australian office in late 2016, our local team will be helping winemakers of all sizes effectively market their products, navigate distribution channels and align to overseas preferences.”
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SOURCE: [Powerretail.com]
