Alibaba's Taobao Global kicks off world initiative in Thailand

Taobao Global creates business for SME brands from around the world through its community of buyers – online personalities who use social media posts and livestreams to engage with and promote items to their followers in China and generate sales for various brands.
Taobao Global buyers, made up of influencers in different fields, delve deeply into overseas lifestyles and curate quality overseas products for Chinese consumers.
Under Project Magellan, named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who led the first expedition in history to circumnavigate the world, Taobao Global will step up its efforts to discover "small but beautiful" brands around the world and bring home products that appeal to Chinese consumers.
By working with government agencies, industry players and local partners in its target markets, the platform will organise a series of sourcing activities for Taobao Global buyers to curate cool and unique brand products direct from the source, and at the same time facilitate the market entry of local SMEs that have the potential to succeed in China.
Home to a diverse range of distinctive products, Thailand has been chosen as the first market for the roll-out of Project Magellan, with a target to boost the number of Thai brands selling on the platform by at least 25 per cent within this year.
In particular, Taobao Global will focus on empowering Thai SME brands selling popular products including latex pillows, latex mattresses, dried fruits and beauty items to grow on its platform.
Other target markets covered by the project include Japan, Korea, Australia, Europe, North America and others.

"We are delighted to see yet another initiative by Alibaba to support the growth of Thai businesses in the digital era. Taobao Global's selection of Thailand as a priority market for its new programme will enhance global recognition of Thai products and boost the confidence of Chinese consumers. It will be an important step in driving the popularity of Thai products on the online market in China," said Somdet Susomboon, Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce.
"China's young consumers are increasingly showing an appetite for products of individuality and quality, and we believe Thai products are an answer to their demand. Many Thai SME brands offer attractive products but remain relatively unknown outside of their home market. By pairing them with resources from our platform, including digital tools, platform insights and support from professional buyers who are adept at discovering demands and inspiring their followers to try new things, we believe we can offer these brands a fast track to secure a foothold on China's largest mobile commerce destination - Taobao Marketplace," said Yao Wei, Director of Taobao Global.
To kick off Project Magellan, a group of key Taobao Global buyers will go on a full-day factory tour in Thailand on Thursday (January 9) and introduce via livestreaming to their followers Thai household, food and beauty products, from the very places where the items originate.
A Thailand-themed marketing campaign is also held this week on Taobao Marketplace featuring flash sales and product recommendations by Taobao Global buyers.
In an effort to build a healthy buyer ecosystem in Thailand, Taobao Global has also formalised its relationship with Thailand Zonet Buyers Development Alliance, the first self-initiated Taobao Global buyer alliance in Thailand.
The alliance, which currently has more than 100 members based in Thailand, will collaborate with Taobao Global this year to introduce more interesting Thai brands to Taobao shoppers and drive Thailand's exports through marketing campaigns, buyer training and buyer-brand matching.
Taobao Global currently counts close to 400 buyers in Thailand. The top three industries of Thai brands represented on the platform are bedding products, beauty and food.
Launched in 2003, Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com) provides consumers with an engaging, personalised shopping experience, optimised by big-data analytics.
Through highly relevant and engaging content and real-time updates from merchants, consumers can learn about products and new trends.
They can also interact with each other and their favorite merchants and key opinion leaders. Merchants on Taobao Marketplace are primarily individuals and small businesses.