Australia Post is helping home-grown businesses such as winemakers capitalise on the lucrative Chinese e-commerce market through its new partnership with the largest online wholesale website in China, 1688.com.
The official launch of Australia Post's 1688.com "Australian pavilion" (auspost.1688.com) will provide a powerful online platform for Australian businesses to sell into China in bulk, reaching more than 100 million registered users and enticing Chinese importers to buy Australian products at more affordable, wholesale prices.
1688.com is a business-to-business (B2B) online marketplace, operating wholly in Chinese. It was established in 2010 by the Alibaba Group, operator of the largest online and mobile marketplaces in the world, to help foreign businesses sell their goods in China at wholesale prices.
Australia Post will initially help sell wine through 1688.com because of the strong demand for Australian wine exports into China but, given the growing interest in high quality Australian products more generally, this will expand to include other categories in 2016.
Australia Post's Managing Director and CEO Ahmed Fahour said that as we enter a landmark era in China-Australia free trade, there has never been a better time for Australian businesses to access China's flourishing e-commerce sector, which is set to become the world's top import market for online goods by 2018.
"Australia Post is committed to supporting local businesses by breaking down barriers to selling overseas and delivering e-commerce solutions that make it easier to do business across the country and overseas," he said. "International expansion can be a daunting prospect for many Australian companies but Alibaba's B2B platform, 1688.com, offers the perfect solution for small and medium businesses to drive more sales in China.”
The Australia Post CEO explained: "Our world-first partnership with 1688.com is a one-stop e-commerce, logistics and delivery solution that streamlines labelling, packaging, pallet consolidation, sea and air transport, customs clearance, warehousing and distribution.
"Alongside our new storefront on Alibaba's 1688.com, we already have an existing storefront on Alibaba's Tmall Global business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplace (auspost.tmall.hk). This means customers who want to sell their products into China can partner with us to sell directly to consumers in China via Tmall, as well as wholesale to Chinese businesses via 1688.com.
"When you combine these two marketplaces and Australia Post's role as AliPay's exclusive agent in Australia, we now offer a complete e-commerce solution that can be tailored to any local business wanting to get into the Chinese market," he concluded.
Michael Mang, Head of International Marketing and Business Development for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, of Alibaba.com and 1688.com, commented: "Our ongoing partnership with Australia Post is a crucial part of our cross-border trade strategy. We are delighted that our agreement enables Australian exporters a direct sales channel to Chinese retailers with even greater wholesale opportunities."
Australia Post is launching the online store in collaboration with the Margaret River Wine Association – the first wine region to sell via the Australian pavilion, showcasing wines from five premium wineries in Western Australia.
Nick Power, CEO of the Margaret River Wine Association, said: "Our producers told us they needed a faster speed-to-market solution for Chinese exports, and Australia Post listened. The 1688.com Australian pavilion is the culmination of many years of work to solve a major obstacle for the Australian wine industry, offering a simple avenue to sell and ship to China in bulk.
"We're thrilled to be the first Australian wine region to showcase our premium wines on 1688.com. Ten different bottle varieties across the Margaret River region's five participating wineries are now on sale to millions of Chinese people through this online store," he added.
"Putting local competition aside, we hope our partnership with Australia Post and 1688.com will pave the way for other Australian wine regions to get on-board and take advantage of this huge opportunity to enter one of the world's largest consumer markets."
Over the coming months, Australia Post will work directly with other premium wine regions to broaden the range offered on the site.
