Tmall Global announced the winners of the first-ever Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest, an initiative designed to help US brands expand their businesses globally. In just two weeks 100 brands applied for the nine positions to participate in Alibaba’s 2020 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the biggest shopping event in the world. In 2009 Alibaba launched their first shopping event on 11/11, with 27 brands generating total gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $7.8 million. Last year total GMV on Alibaba’s various platforms hit $30.8 billion, up 27% from the prior year, and a huge 252% CAGR over the previous nine years.
The nine winners represent major retail verticals, including beauty, food, wellness, personal care, home, and baby. These businesses will have the unique opportunity to work directly with Tmall Global to onboard their products and leverage marketing tools and resources to help them drive brand awareness. The brands will receive ongoing advice from Tmall Global as they explore the China market and formulate their business strategies.
“The Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest is designed to spotlight and celebrate top U.S. small and medium-sized brands that have enormous potential to grow their businesses globally,” said Tony Shan, Head of Tmall Global for the Americas. “The Pitch Fest is just the beginning. We look forward to working with these brands and bringing their unique and high-quality products to Chinese consumers in the upcoming 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.”
Beauty and Wellness Winners:
While the opportunity in China is real, it also takes a significant investment. Ian Ginsberg, CEO of C.O. Bigelow, said he knows there’s a demand for the brand in China, but as an independent business, they have not had the budget to launch in the market. This opportunity will allow them to harness the brand awareness they’ve built through amenity programs in Chinese hotels, regular livestreaming in the market, and Chinese tourists who visit the New York store.
