Janet Wang is the general manager of Tmall’s Luxury Pavilion at Alibaba Group, where she has accelerated growth and driven innovation in how high-end brands sell to Chinese consumers on the e-commerce platform.
Wang joined Alibaba in 2010 as head of international business development. During that time, she played a pivotal role in bolstering Tmall's credibility in western markets, bringing onboard major luxury and sportswear brands. She left Alibaba for roles including general manager of Zara's digital offering in the Asia Pacific region, returning to lead Tmall’s luxury division in 2021. She has since introduced new immersive digital experiences at the Chinese e-commerce giant where more than 200 international luxury and premium brands have been sold including Valentino, Burberry, Versace, Ermenegildo Zegna, Cartier and Bulgari.
During her most recent tenure at the firm, Wang has rolled out a steady stream of features on Luxury Pavilion that help brands connect with customers in new ways such as personalised video consultations, complementary livestream content and 3D try-on. For partner brands, e-commerce on the platform is “more than just a sales channel,” she told BoF in 2022. “It’s a vehicle that they can use [to harvest] consumer insights and then build their strategies around it.”
She has also expanded Tmall’s use of physical events to complement its online experience and is tasked with longer-term projects like expanding Tmall’s offerings in the metaverse. Taiwan-born Wang obtained a masters in publishing at New York University and, early in her career, covered fashion and luxury for the likes of China Times Weekly and Vogue China.
