Walgreens Boots Alliance and Alibaba Group Holding have announced the launch of a Boots flagship store on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s B2C platform for international brands and retailers.
The partnership will offer Boots beauty brands to more than half a billion consumers in China, including No7, Soap & Glory and Boots Cucumber.
Launched in 2014, Alibaba’s Tmall platform is China’s largest B2C marketplace for both Chinese and international brands and retailers, allowing those without a presence in China to build virtual storefronts and ship products into the country.
“We are truly excited to be launching our online flagship store in China exclusively on Tmall Global,” Ken Murphy, executive vice president WBA and chief commercial officer and president of global brands, said in a press release. “This is a great opportunity for us to increase the internationalization of our products and to utilize the many innovative technologies that Alibaba has developed. At the same time, our collaboration with Tmall Global complements our presence in wholesale and retail pharmacy in China with a new, fantastic channel, through which we can distribute our beauty brands in a market with almost endless possibilities. Today’s announcement is the first step on a path we believe offers both of us incredible potential for the future.”
Recent data shows that total skincare products and makeup sales in China reached RMB186.7 billion and RMB34.4 billion (or $27.26 billion and $5.02 billion), respectively, in 2017. In addition, overall online retail sales in China passed the $1 trillion mark for the first time last year, making the country the world’s biggest eCommerce market.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Walgreens Boots Alliance as they continue to build their brands in China, engage a new audience and meet the evolving lifestyle demands of the Chinese consumer,” said Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group. “We look forward to building on the relationship with WBA to continuously expand the range of product selection to better serve the more than half a billion consumers on our marketplaces looking for quality international beauty and cosmetics product.”
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