AliExpress offers new subsidies to lure brands

Alibaba’s international retail platform seeks to draw Chinese firms amid stiff competition

AliExpress, the international online shopping platform of Alibaba Group Holding, will provide fresh subsidies to entice more Chinese brands and merchants to sell overseas, as the e-commerce giant moves to fend off growing competition from PDD Holdings’ Temu and fastfashion retailer Shein.

Under the campaign, called “10 billion yuan of subsidies” – a typical marketing phrase used to tout large online allotments – the incentives will be given to an initial batch of 1,000 national brands and merchants, including those that have already opened a store on Alibaba’s domestic Tmall retail platform, according to an AliExpress statement on Monday. AliExpress did not provide the exact amount of the subsidies.

Chinese brands and merchants that register under the campaign can also sell goods on Alibaba’s other international channels including Lazada in Southeast Asia, Miravia in Spain, Trendyol in Turkey and Daraz in South Asia, according to AliExpress.

Those who sign up for the AliExpress programme will also receive marketing help to boost online consumer traffic and special delivery services via Alibaba unit Cainiao Smart Logistics Network. Alibaba also owns the Post.

The latest AliExpress campaign shows how competition from a new generation of Chinafounded online retailers, Temu and Shein in particular, has raised the stakes for Alibaba’s overseas expansion efforts, as a shaky post-pandemic economic recovery has weakened spending in the domestic market.

AliExpress recently signed up as a sponsor of this year’s European Football Championship, or Euro 2024, to become the first exclusive e-commerce platform partner for the national men’s teams under the Union of European Football Associations. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Early last month, Alibaba expanded its “five-day delivery” service to the United States for the benefit of AliExpress shoppers in the world’s largest economy. The Cainiao-led service, which was introduced last year, also covers Mexico, Germany, France, Portugal and Saudi Arabia.

In the quarter to December 31, AliExpress boosted revenue at Alibaba’s International Digital Commerce Group by 44 per cent year on year to 28.52 billion yuan (HK$30.8 billion).

AliExpress also delivered order growth of more than 60 per cent in the same period.

Industrial robots weld vehicle parts on the production line of FAW Jiefang Qingdao Automobile in Jimo district in Qingdao, Shandong province, yesterday.

There are more than 400 enterprises involved in the output of cars and components in the district, producing over 700,000 motor vehicles annually.