Recently, Alibaba announced that it will open its first office in Melbourne, Australia, as it plans to expand its presence internationally. This expansion is part of the company’s globalization strategy to reach two billion customers in the next two decades. 1300 Australian brands are already sold through Alibaba’s online stores and the company is well known in the region.
By opening an office in the country, Alibaba plans to support existing merchants on its platform, encourage more companies to come onto its platform and develop relationships with the government and industry. Its strategy is two pronged: 1) Get more Australian sellers on its platform, which will increase foreign inventory for its Chinese buyers; and, 2) Expand its presence in the Australian e-commerce market to increase its user base.
Alibaba also plans to go beyond its core business and introduce its cloud services and payment system (Alipay) in the region. We believe this expansion is important for Alibaba as it looks to become a global player and meet its ambitious growth target.
Source: Forbes
