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Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) aggressively pursued international growth with peers to balance the impact of the domestic slowdown.
Alibaba’s AliExpress retail service held a launch event in Spain on Thursday, offering users a nine-day delivery time since the beginning of March, SCMP reports.
AliExpress operates up to nine charter flights to Spain per week, the largest of any EU market outside Belgium, AliExpress’ logistics hub in Europe.
Also read: Alibaba signs new deal with China to boost Hangzhou’s digital economy, reflecting improved ties with Beijing
AliExpress plans to increase the number of pickup points in Spain from the current 5,000 to 7,500 by the end of March.
In February, orders in the country increased 89% year-on-year in the kitchen goods category and 44% year-over-year in the household goods and cleaning category, the company said.
Gary Topp, European commercial director at AliExpress, shared in an interview that the company plans to invest heavily in user experience, including logistics, free returns, installment payments, product selection and quality, and price protection. Topp said Spain is his AliExpress priority in Europe.
AliExpress announced this year that it will invest KRW 100 billion ($76.2 million) in South Korea to improve logistics, user experience and the price/performance ratio of its products. According to Ray Zhang, general manager of AliExpress South Korea, daily active users in the country increased by more than 60% year-on-year last month.
Mark Tanner, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy China Skinny, said AliExpress is targeting markets like Spain because Chinese cross-border goods, especially those with lower prices, are more competitive than markets like the United States. He said it was because it was less. AliExpress has a logistical advantage over competitors due to increased investment [logistics unit] Cainiao.
Price action: At the last check on Thursday, BABA shares traded 0.52% higher at $81.93.
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Alibaba’s AliExpress Prioritizes Spain for Overseas Growth, Focuses on South Korea
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