Fung Retailing Limited is joining forces with B2B marketplace Alibaba to to bring more international lifestyle brands to mainland China.
The collaboration will integrate Fung Retailing’s brand and supply chain resources with the Chinese online giant’s big data and technology – and aims to meet increasing demand from Chinese consumers.
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The deal will leverage Fung Retailing’s global portfolio of brands, offline retail channels and marketing know-how, as well as Alibaba’s ecosystem, digital retail leadership, technology, and consumer insights from Alibaba’s 600m users.
This will help global brands tailor their product development and marketing strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of Chinese consumers. The brands can also draw on Alibaba’s new retail channels, including Tmall and Intime, as well as Fung Retailing’s offline stores, thereby reducing costs, risks, and the time traditionally associated with entering the China market.
Fung Retailing’s businesses include Toys”R”Us (Asia) with over 400 stores; the Branded Lifestyle business with casual fashion brands Hang Ten, Roots, Arnold Palmer, and Korean fast fashion brands H:Connect and Leo; Korean baby and children’s apparel retailer Suhyang; and Kids Fashion, with over 600 outlets.
Under the MOU, both companies will join forces in global brand recruitment and offer brands merchandising, marketing and omnichannel distribution services. This collaboration will focus on the mainland China market as a first step, and potentially expand to other regions riding on Alibaba’s platforms.
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By GlobalData“We endeavour to help global brands expand their foothold in the China market by fully integrating Alibaba’s strong capabilities in New Retail, big data and technology with Fung Retailing’s unparalleled advantageous in brand and supply chain resources,” says Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang. “We believe this partnership represents the beginning of a new chapter for New Retail.”
Fung Retailing group managing director, Sabrina Fung, says because retail is changing exponentially, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. “Through this exciting strategic partnership with Alibaba, we will help customers navigate the full Chinese retail economy and reach China’s 1.4 billion consumers more easily. In this evolving retail landscape, and faced with changing consumer behaviour and disruptive retail technologies, we are focused on developing new ways to do business.”
