How Amazon wants to crack China -- starting in Alibaba’s hometown

Retail giant has struggled to find its place in a market dominated by Alibaba and JD.com

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Amazon entered China in 2004 after purchasing a Chinese online retailer. (Picture: AP Photo)

Published: 5:34pm, 29 Jun 2018Updated: 8:29am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

This week, a curious visitor showed up in Alibaba’s hometown.

Amazon threw an event in Hangzhou, inviting Chinese manufacturers to meet with thousands of online merchants from around the world. According to Chinese media, attendants heard tips on how to prepare for Black Friday and other busy holiday shopping days in the US and Europe.

Just as Alibaba has found little success with its e-commerce services in the US, Amazon has found it difficult to crack the Chinese market too. More than 80% of online shoppers in China buy from either JD.com or Alibaba’s Tmall, while Amazon only makes up less than 1% of the market. Domestic giants are so dominant that Amazon even opened a store on Tmall.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)

Amazon entered China in 2004 after purchasing online retailer Joyo.com, which was founded by Lei Jun who went on to launch Xiaomi. (Picture: AP Photo)

Now it looks like Amazon might be changing tactics: Instead of just trying to sell to Chinese consumers, it’s also trying to help small businesses in China and abroad -- by using Amazon’s services to sell their products.