According to the agreement signed by both firms, the German retailing group, METRO GROUP, is expected to launch its official store exclusively on Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global platform offering German products to the Chinese consumer.
METRO GROUP already operates over 80 wholesale markets in China under the banner METRO Cash & Carry. In the first phase, over 100 products in the categories of dairy, canned foods, coffee, and chocolate from METRO Cash & Carry Germany as well as cosmetics goods are to be offered.
The international shipping from Europe to China is to be performed in advance with stock stored in Shanghai Free Trade Zone warehouses allowing for cross-border delivery directly from the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and customs clearance fulfilled by Alibaba Group’s specialized service team.
Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, said: “This partnership will encompass collaboration in areas including cross-border e-commerce, logistics, rural e-commerce, online supermarket and online-offline initiatives. Insights provided by Alibaba Group’s Big Data will help METRO GROUP effectively capture the demand for quality imported products among Chinese consumers. Additionally, Alibaba Group and METRO GROUP will work together to help more European consumer brands establish fast-track solutions for expanding into the Chinese market.”
In addition to the cross-border e-shop, both companies also agreed to explore omni-channel and comprehensive collaboration opportunities in areas including global sourcing of products in different categories, supply chain optimization and market insights leveraging on big data.
