Increasing popularity on cross-border E-commerce by Taobao, Tmall and Tmall Global

Everyone knows AliBaba, the Chinese equivalent of eBay or Amazon.com. AliBaba, similar to the Bol.com platform in the Netherlands, owns the largest online sales platforms in China: TaoBao, Tmall and Tmall Globa

Taobao or Tmall

For professional traders , TaoBao (www.taboa.cn)is the least interesting platform. TaoBao is a C2C (consumer-to-consumer) platform, just like the dutch Marktplaats.nl. Tmall (www.tmall.com) on the other hand is a B2C (business-to-consumer) environment. In fact, Tmall is the largest B2C platform in Asia. With Tmall, a company can sell directly to millions of Chinese. Tmall has positioned itself as a supplier of top-quality brand products. To be able to sell via Tmall you need a Chinese legal entity and a Chinese trademark right. You also need a business location and bank account in China. Not to mention permits and a logistics chain.

The good reputation that Tmall has built up, however, suffers from an increase in counterfeit products and counterfeits. This development is also going on at TaoBao. Chinese people, however, are becoming increasingly more powerful and demand authentic brand products. They travel more and get acquainted with foreign goods. Combined with the continuing economic growth, this has led to the development of Tmall Global (www.tmall.hk).

Tmall Global: a business opportunity

Tmall Global (started in February 2014) makes it possible for foreign companies to sell directly to Chinese consumers. Tmall Global only allows genuine brands, so buyers can be confident that the product they order is authentic, and not a scam.

For foreign companies, Tmall Global makes life a lot easier, because all requirements for selling via Tmall are no longer applicable. As a result, the entry barrier of the Chinese market is much lower. In 2016, 14,500 international brands (out of 63 countries) already realized this. They sell their products through Tmall Global. For 80% of these brands, using Tmall Global means a first step on a whole new market.

Tmall Global is a great way to enter the Chinese market. A legal personality or trademark in China is no longer necessary. Order fulfillment and logistics is done via Tmall Global. This may make it easier to enter the Chinese market than it is to open a store in your neighboring village.

Tax benefits

The Chinese government also likes cross-border E-commerce. At least, you would think that when you look at a tax measure from 2016. Products that are sold via a cross-border E-commerce platform (such as Tmall Global) are eligible for a discount on the import levy. As a result, products on Tmall Global can be offered at a competitive price.

Start selling on Tmall Global ?

AsiaAssist is an officiall Tmall Global partner, we help European companies & brands to enter the Chinese e-commerce market through, among others, Tmall Global. Our professionals in both Rotterdam and Shanghai offer full service e-commerce solutions. This means that we can take care of everything from registration to logistics and from customer service to online marketing.