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