The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
HANGZHOU, China — Metro AG, Germany's largest retailer, is forming an alliance with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to develop e-commerce on the Chinese online retailer's website.
Metro will sell private-label products to Chinese consumers through Alibaba’s site, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. The retailers will also explore ways to cooperate in sourcing and using data.
“Alibaba Group and Metro Group will work together to help more European consumer brands establish fast-track solutions for expanding into the Chinese market,” Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said in the statement.
Metro has been expanding in Asia and said last month it’s hunting further targets after agreeing to buy Classic Fine Foods Group, a Singapore-based supplier of gourmet products, for as much as $328 million.
By Thomas Mulier; editors: Matthew Boyle, Paul Jarvis, Phil Serafino.
Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com have faced increasing competition in recent years from low-cost platforms, such as PDD Holding’s Pinduoduo and ByteDance-owned Douyin.
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.