Alibaba bets on Taobao, Tmall clothing merchants to compete overseas against Shein, Temu

Alibaba’s pan-clothing global free shipping plan offers qualified merchants a new way to sell their products overseas

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Alibaba’s latest initiative ratchets up its efforts to compete overseas against Shein, Temu and ByteDance-owned TikTok Shop. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:00am, 24 Jul 2024

Alibaba Group Holding aims to supercharge the business of clothing merchants on Chinese shopping platforms Taobao and Tmall with overseas shipment subsidies, as the e-commerce giant intensifies competition against Shein and Temu.

Eligible merchants on Taobao and Tmall can enroll in Alibaba’s new pan-clothing global free shipping plan, so they can sell their products directly to consumers in several markets outside the mainland, the Hangzhou-based company said in a statement in response to the South China Morning Post’s inquiry. Alibaba owns the Post.

Taobao and Tmall merchants who sell goods in the pan-fashion category – including men’s and women’s garments, sports and outdoor apparel, shoes, bags and accessories – are eligible to take part in this programme, Alibaba said.

“In the fast fashion industry, Taobao apparel merchants have a great advantage on a global scale,” Alibaba said. “They have leading e-commerce operations experience and are backed by the supply chain capacity of the ‘world’s factory’.”

Taobao and Tmall are the primary Chinese online retail platforms of Alibaba Group Holding. Photo: Shutterstock

Qualified merchants need only send ordered goods to a designated consolidation warehouse in China, and Alibaba will handle the cross-border logistics. This arrangement currently covers a few markets in Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, according to the statement

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