Alibaba gives CPG giant direct access to Chinese customers

Hangzhou, China - Alibaba Group is providing the Chinese arm of a major global CPG company direct access to the Chinese consumer market. Alibaba and Unilever China are launching a comprehensive strategic partnership focused on areas including rural China penetration, cross-border e-commerce, Big Data-driven advertising, and supply chain optimization.



This agreement builds on a partnership that started five years ago with a single Tmall store. Through this strategic partnership, Alibaba Group and Unilever China will work together to:



• Strengthen cooperation to expand distribution channels, especially for consumers in rural areas to obtain more convenient access to Unilever products.



• Further develop cross-border ecommerce cooperation.



• Expand application of Big Data to optimize Unilever’s digital advertising strategy through Alimama, Alibaba’s online marketing business, and reach more consumers through online-offline retail integration.



• Deepen collaboration in Alibaba’s Blue Star program where each product is tagged with a unique QR code that allows the consumer to verify its authenticity and origin.



• Develop innovations in supply chain management and offline distribution models.



The upcoming “Unilever Week” on Tmall, scheduled for July 22 to 24, will celebrate the start of this partnership agreement.



“We are very pleased to amplify our partnership with an industry leader such as Unilever,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “We look forward to building on our success in sales over the years and taking the collaboration to the next level. Moving forward, Alibaba Group and Unilever will jointly innovate in Big Data analytics application, cross-border e-commerce, and supply chain management. In this rapidly changing business landscape, we are committed to continually provide greater value to merchants and better experiences to shoppers.”