Amazon has opened a store on Alibaba’s business to consumer platform in order to establish a bigger presence in the Chinese e-commerce market.
The American firm will sell around 500 items, including food, women’s footwear, toys and kitchenware on Tmall.com.
While the two companies might be considered competitors in some areas, an Alibaba spokeswoman welcomed Amazon to the Alibaba ecosystem, Business Insider reported.
“Their presence will further broaden the selection of products and elevate the shopping experience for Chinese consumers on Tmall,” she said in a statement to AFP.
Alibaba has no product stocks of its own, instead providing a trading platform for merchants. Amazon has already taken advantage of Tmall’s reach, opening an official store for the Kindle on the platform last year. Tmall is thought to hold more than half the market in China for business to consumer transactions.
The move could challenge Alibaba competitor JD.com, whose business model is much closer to Amazon’s.
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