Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (Alibaba) has announced the launch of a Boots flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform, bringing the brand to more than half a billion consumers.
The flagship will give Chinese customers access to some of Boots’ most popular American and British brands, including No7, Soap & Glory and Boots Cucumber.
Tmall is China’s largest B2C marketplace for Chinese and international brands and retailers, giving them the opportunity to build virtual storefronts and ship products without operations in the country.
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“We are truly excited to be launching our online flagship store in China exclusively on Tmall Global,” said Ken Murphy, executive vice president, WBA and chief commercial officer and president of global brands. “This is a great opportunity for us to increase the internationalization of our products and to utilize the many innovative technologies that Alibaba has developed. At the same time, our collaboration with Tmall Global complements our presence in wholesale and retail pharmacy in China with a new, fantastic channel, through which we can distribute our beauty brands in a market with almost endless possibilities. Today’s announcement is the first step on a path we believe offers both of us incredible potential for the future.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Walgreens Boots Alliance as they continue to build their brands in China, engage a new audience and meet the evolving lifestyle demands of the Chinese consumer,” added Alibaba Group president Michael Evans. “We look forward to building on the relationship with WBA to continuously expand the range of product selection to better serve the more than half a billion consumers on our marketplaces looking for quality international beauty and cosmetics product.”
