.png)
For more than two decades, Alibaba has worked with American small businesses, farmers, and major brands to sell everything from agricultural products to cosmetics and fashion to markets around the globe. During the pandemic, we believe it is even more critical for U.S. businesses to sell their products online and abroad.
The American public agrees.
Last month, Echelon Insights surveyed 1,000 likely voters from August 14-August 18, 2020. 80% of respondents agreed that having access to customers worldwide is essential for businesses to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, 77% of respondents agreed that small and medium-sized businesses need access to digital tools, diversified supply chains, and customers around the world to compete and grow.
Alibaba’s Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest, launched earlier this month, is an example of our recent efforts to help U.S. small businesses expand globally. The nine winning brands will now begin setting up storefronts on Tmall Global and are slated to participate in Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.
During September, Alibaba also helped U.S. designers gain exposure and brand recognition among China’s fashion customers. For the first time, we streamed New York Fashion Week across our digital entertainment platforms and e-commerce sites, enabling U.S. designers to reach an audience of 900 million consumers. We were also thrilled to welcome iconic American designer Marc Jacobs to our Tmall Luxury Platform.
In an uncertain time, Alibaba remains committed to helping American businesses reach global markets while satisfying the strong consumer demand for U.S. products. Since April 2020, we launched 170 U.S. brands on our cross-border platform Tmall Global, adding to the thousands of U.S. brands already selling on our marketplaces. We have continued to invest in building our digital capabilities, offering new and innovative tools and strategies to help American brands generate sales, engage with customers, rebuild their businesses and recover.
Our work to help brands and small businesses through this challenging time was recognized by three important awards this month. Fortune named Alibaba the #2 company that is changing the world, just behind a group of the world’s vaccine makers. The World Retail Congress named Alibaba Retailer of the Year along with Walmart. And the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) named Alibaba Retail Innovator of the Year.
Covid-19 has accelerated the need for companies to digitize and look to new markets for continued growth. We are grateful for the chance to work with so many U.S. businesses to do just that.
Sincerely,
Michael Evans, President and Director, Alibaba Group
Nine U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Selected to Participate in Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival
Nearly 100 small and medium-sized U.S. brands applied to participate in Alibaba’s first-ever Go Global Pitch Fest. The winning brands are being fast-tracked to participate in the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival through Tmall Global's Overseas Fulfillment program, which offers greater inventory flexibility and reduces operational and logistics costs.
It has been estimated that a quarter of every dollar, on average, that a U.S. farmer or rancher earns from the farm is due to exports. It may even be higher for some growers.
Our farmers are highly productive. With utmost respect to farmers everywhere, because I know that a strong work ethic abides in all farmers’ hearts, I don’t think anyone can out-produce the American farmer. We’re proud of that, and we’re proud of being what we’ve sometimes called “the breadbasket of the world.”
With so much of our economic sustainability and pride riding on global markets, U.S. farmers are always looking to expand our access to those markets.
Within the past couple of years, the United States has signed trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, Japan and China. Now, our government’s trade negotiators are working on a deal with India. Several other countries in the region, such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, are of great interest as growing markets.
Trade deals are one way to grow our access to global markets. Another is through technology, and it’s so exciting to see farmers and consumers from around the globe connecting via online services to create, in effect, a global farmers’ market. It’s amazing to think that a farmer can sell directly to customers, through digital platforms like Alibaba’s, both in their local communities and a continent away, something that was practically unheard of when I was a boy working on my family’s dairy farm.
We need greater understanding and appreciation of global trade, so that it can continue to grow. It is vital that the public understands how access to global markets brings the best of the world to our doors and the best of U.S. agriculture to hungry consumers around the world.
Access to global markets is a win-win!
Alibaba’s business ecosystem helps create jobs, grow local economies and support industries in states across the country. On our website, you can learn how companies in your state are benefiting from their partnership with Alibaba. Each month our newsletter will highlight how brands in an individual state work with Alibaba to access global markets. Today we focus on the Empire State.
Opportunities for New York Businesses
Over one hundred New York-based businesses have partnered with Alibaba to access Chinese and global markets and expand their customer base abroad. From big brand names like Coach and Estée Lauder to small businesses like Evereden, a growing number of New York-based companies are utilizing Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms to grow their business.
Kimberley Ho, founder and CEO of New York-based family skincare company Evereden, launched on Tmall Global in November 2018. In the first month, sales exceeded Ho’s expectations after the conversion rate, or frequency with which visitors to the site actually purchase a product, reached 15% to 20%.
In addition to helping U.S. businesses like Evereden grow, Alibaba’s business ecosystem helps create job opportunities and supports industries across the state, boosting the New York state economy.
Learn about other successful American businesses’ partnership with Alibaba in your state.
Last month Alibaba.com hosted its second U.S. Online Trade Show showcasing American food and beverage manufacturers, wholesalers and brands to buyers from around the world. The event featured nearly 40 exhibitors from around the country livestreaming to a global audience of over 1 million business buyers.
Before the pandemic, many of these companies made their most important sales connections through in-person trade shows. By bringing these events online, exhibitors like Elmhurst 1925, a leading nut milk manufacturer based in Elma, NY, showcased their products and met potential business buyers. Event attendees appreciated discovering new, innovative companies all in one experience, and since the show, Elmhurst’s team and many other exhibitors have fielded multiple inquiries from buyers.
Alibaba.com U.S. Online Trade Shows are real-time, interactive, curated experiences designed to help buyers and sellers meet online. Join upcoming shows.
Other Events
Oct. 14: NRF Retail Leadership Live Series with Michael Evans
From Washington State to China: How Domex Superfresh Growers Sell their Cherries to Customers Globally
Watch more success stories about the many other American businesses like Domex Superfresh that are partnering with Alibaba to grow globally.
From Washington State to China: How Domex Superfresh Growers Sell Their Local-Grown Cherries to Customers Globally
Watch more success stories about the many other American businesses like Domex Superfresh that are partnering with Alibaba to grow globally.
Alibaba’s mission is “to make it easy to do business anywhere,” and that’s what this newsletter is about. Each edition of this newsletter provides a window into how U.S. businesses are accessing nearly one billion consumers in China and other overseas markets through our digital platforms. By connecting American companies with new consumers and businesses abroad, we help them drive increased global sales, grow communities, create jobs and support dozens of U.S. industries and sectors.
Last year, thousands of U.S. entrepreneurs, farmers, brands, and small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) sold over $40 billion worth of goods to Chinese consumers through our online platforms. And Alibaba.com, our B2B platform, empowers U.S. businesses to sell high-quality goods to 10 million other business enterprises around the world.
Throughout the pandemic, Alibaba has continued to invest in building our digital capabilities, offering new and innovative tools and strategies to help American brands generate sales, engage with customers, rebuild their businesses and recover.
As an example, we recently announced our first “Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest.” We are inviting U.S small and medium-sized brands to register to pitch for the opportunity to sell their products during our 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, which is the world’s biggest online shopping event. Similarly, to provide help to U.S. B2B businesses during the pandemic, we are organizing Alibaba.com Online Trade Shows USA, a series of multi-day, online events that provide U.S. sellers the opportunity to connect with buyers globally.
As tough as 2020 has been for global business, there is a big opportunity for American companies to digitize their businesses, go global, and sell their products to new markets. There is also the opportunity for U.S. small businesses to tap into the nearly $24 trillion global B2B e-commerce market through our platforms. Many already are, and we’re pleased to be able to share some of their success stories with you. For companies who aren’t, we stand ready to help you understand if our online platforms can help you.
Sincerely,
Michael Evans, President and Director, Alibaba Group
Radha Beauty works with Alibaba to expand its reach globally and create quality jobs in Aurora, Ohio, where the company is based. In this video, Radha's CEO Christopher Longo shares how Alibaba helps his company thrive overseas during the pandemic.
Many more American businesses like Radha Beauty are tapping into Alibaba to grow globally. Watch more success stories.
.png)
Radha Beauty works with Alibaba to expand its reach globally and create quality jobs in Aurora, Ohio, where the company is based. In this video, Radha's CEO Christopher Longo shares how Alibaba helps his company thrive overseas during the pandemic.
Many more American businesses like Radha Beauty are tapping into Alibaba to grow globally. Watch more success stories.
The global B2B ecommerce market is estimated to be six times the size of the global business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce market. Alibaba.com is a comprehensive, end-to-end ecommerce platform built for B2B success. Last July, we opened the platform for U.S. sellers to connect with our 10 million active business buyers, and the U.S. has been the fastest growing source of suppliers since.
This year has been a particularly challenging one for businesses, and throughout this crisis, we have continued to invest in our platform – offering new features to help U.S. SMBs find customers and generate sales so they can pivot and persevere through these difficult times. Learn about Alibaba's new tools to help SMBs reach global consumers.
As with the economy as a whole, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented new tests for the retail industry. Reaching customers with a digital strategy powered by e-commerce platforms took on new urgency as many consumers shifted from in-person to online purchasing. At the same time, it is important that businesses do not lose sight of opportunities to reach even wider audiences by expanding global sales.
International e-commerce companies make it possible for retailers to take their business operations global and tap into demand for their products in other countries, especially in Asia. The growing demand from Chinese consumers is tremendous, and it’s important to have e-commerce platforms that lower traditional barriers that prevent companies from accessing the global marketplace, particularly with payments, logistics and marketing. These platforms make it easier for our businesses to sell abroad, compete more efficiently in the global economy and hopefully break their own sales records in the process.
Alibaba is no stranger to this space. In October, on the NRF virtual program the “Retail Leadership Series,” I’m excited to host Michael Evans, President of Alibaba. We’ll be talking about the challenges and opportunities facing retailers today, and specifically how the Alibaba Group’s Tmall and Alibaba.com have created pathways for American retailers to reach consumers in Asia and other parts of the world. Learn more about this virtual event and register here.
Steve Clemons, The Hill’s editor-at-large, convened a discussion on how exports still matter, how the rising middle class around the world is a vital market for American goods and services providers and how during a pandemic, new tech platforms are giving these enterprises a leg up into new global market opportunities. Speakers included Rick Larsen (D-WA); Carlos Gutierrez, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Michael Evans, President, Alibaba Group; Karen Horan, Global Business Development, National Confectioners Association; and Josh Ghaim, Co-Founder, Ignite Venture Studio. View the panel session recap.
The “Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest” is a virtual event designed to help more U.S. brands expand their businesses globally. The event will provide an opportunity for selected U.S. small- and medium-sized businesses to test the market in China and participate in Alibaba’s 2020 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the biggest shopping festival in the world with $38.4 billion of gross merchandise value in 24 hours last year. Learn more about the Pitch Fest and how SMBs can enter.
.jpg)
