Alibaba and Unilever sign strategic partnership agreement
Alibaba Group and Unilever China have signed a strategic partnership agreement whose “key areas of collaboration” will include rural China penetration, cross-border e-commerce, consumer protection and Big Data. “We are very pleased to amplify our partnership with an industry leader such as Unilever,” said Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. “We look forward to building on our success in sales over the years and taking the collaboration to the next level. Moving forward, Alibaba Group and Unilever will jointly innovate in Big Data analytics application, cross-border e-commerce, and supply chain management.”
Alibaba and Unilever have already been working together for the past five years. Now, with the new strategic partnership, the two companies will undertake to :
- strengthen cooperation to expand distribution channels, especially for consumers in rural areas to enjoy more convenient access to Unilever products
- further develop cross-border ecommerce cooperation and expand the Tmall Global Unilever store
- expand the application of Big Data to optimize Unilever’s digital advertising strategy through Alimama, Alibaba’s online marketing business, and reach more consumers through online-offline retail integration
- work together in Alibaba’s Blue Star programme (whereby each product is tagged with a unique QR code which, according to Alibaba, allows the consumer to verify its authenticity and origin)
- Develop innovations in supply chain management and offline distribution models.
The partnership agreement will be highlighted at the forthcoming Unilever Week on Tmall, scheduled for July 22 to 24.
