The Alibaba e-commerce platform will set out a super promotion of Made in Italy products for four days next week, said Alibaba Southern Europe country manager Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio. Among the Italian brands that will have an online shop are Barilla, Lavazza, Ferrero and Coop Italian Food as well as Allegrini, Arnaldo Caprai, Feudi San Gregorio, Fontanafredda, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, Planeta, Villa Sandi and Mezzacorona for wines. The super promotion between June 1th and June 4th is the first ever made up by the e-commerce giant and it may be replicated on September 9 and on November 11. The group founded by Jack Ma in 1999 aims to raise the number of foreign products sold on its websites over the coming five years, especially on the Tmall Global site, launched in February 2014 for a B2C segment that increasingly meets the tastes and demands of China’s new middle class. According to estimates from Alibaba’s management, the value of goods imported and sold on Alibaba’s website will reach 245 billion dollars in 2020 compared to the current 21 billion dollars. “We had a very productive meeting with Vice President Daniel Zhang and we examined the potential that this website can offer to Italian business,” said Italy’s Ambassador to China, Ettore Sequi.
ITALIAN COMPANIES TO TEST CHINA, WITH THE HELP OF ITALIAN TRADE AGENCY – The Alibaba platform is important for entering the Chinese market with its 400 million clients. Ambassador to China, Ettore Sequi noted that e-commerce “can be very useful in promoting certain Italian products that aren’t doing too well in China”, such as wine. “We’re fifth for imports,” he noted, despite Italy being “the world’s largest wine producer and at the top of the ranks for wine exports in 2015. This website will certainly be able to offer opportunities in this field too.” According to Federalimentare data, last year Made in Italy agri-food products in China reached 388 million euros in sales, with a leap of 25%. “For four months, we have been offering on the Alibaba platform the same products that we sell in Italy,” says Domenico Brisigotti, the CEO of Coop Italian Food. “We have obtained some results.” However, Brisigotti explains that: “The Chinese market is difficult, starting from the customs regulations, despite Alibaba’s service structure. The Chinese have a deep-rooted food culture, they are accustomed to ready products and often eat out of home.”As Brisigotti pointed out, the most interesting products for the Chinese consumers are UHT milk, beer, wine and iced tea.
