Irish SMEs encouraged to apply for fast-track access to Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival

Irish SMEs are encouraged to apply and pitch for a place at Alibaba’s Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest, with the winning company gaining a fast-track route to participate in Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the world’s largest shopping festival. The exclusive opportunity is part of a collaboration between WPP and Alibaba and will provide a selected company with access to the Chinese eCommerce market, which has been valued at over $2 trillion annually.

Held over eleven days in November, the Alibaba 11.11 Global Shopping Festival is a shopping experience like no other. In 2020, over 800 million customers participated in the festival with a total of $74.1 billion gross merchandise value (GMV) generated in sales.

Based in China, Alibaba Group is one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, serving over one billion consumers annually. Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform is the largest cross-border, online marketplace in the world. It enables small and medium-sized brands, without operations in China, to access the China market and engage with Chinese consumers.

Irish companies wishing to participate can apply to pitch their consumer proposition and products to a WPP and Alibaba expert panel. The panel will consider every aspect of the pitch, provide detailed feedback and offer valuable advice on how to start and grow their business in China.

All companies that enter will receive a follow up one-to-one consultation with an expert from Tmall Global, Alibaba’s cross-border B2C marketplace, a bespoke report on its market opportunity and advice and tips on how to grow their brand globally and in China.

The winning company, as chosen by the expert WPP and Alibaba panel will be eligible to participate Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, with their products launched on Tmall Global. The company will also be able to avail of additional marketing advice and tools to boost exposure and awareness in the lead up to 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

Irish SMEs interested in entering this competition can register and find more details about Alibaba’s Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest, at the following link: https://11-11.tswpp.com/fast-track/

Applications to enter the pitch process will close on July 22nd.

JP Donnelly, Country Manager for WPP in Ireland said, “This is an incredible opportunity for Irish SMEs to gain exposure in the Chinese consumer market, one of the largest in the world. Irish companies have been successful in recent years in identifying international sales channels and exporting products. Our collaboration with Alibaba has the potential to provide an Irish company with a fast-track route to tap into this important market.”

Zarina Kanji, Tmall Global Business Development & Marketing, Alibaba Group said, “The 11.11 Global Shopping Festival is the biggest shopping event in the world. European brands are incredibly popular among Chinese consumers and that presents a great opportunity for Irish SMEs. Across Alibaba’s Tmall and Tmall Global platforms last year, European brands sold $36.8 billion worth of products to Chinese consumers.”