Alibaba to Open Logistics Centre in France
As competition becomes fiercer for the largest online retailer, companies are trying to expand into new territories. Amazon has been making expansions in recent years especially in the east. Competitor Alibaba is doing the same thing in the west, as it is set to open a logistics centre in France.
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Alibaba opening a logistics centre there shows its commitment to European expansion. Currently the company is looking for a site for it as well as partners. This has been announced by CEO and Alibaba founder Jack Ma after a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Alibaba expanding west
Ma has talked about that possibility with Macron. Another Chinese eCommerce retailer has expressed its interest in setting up in France. Richard Liu, founder and CEO of JD.com has also talked with Macron. JD.com is the second largest eCommerce retailer in China.
Last year Alibaba has also shown interest in putting up a fulfilment centre in Bulgaria. Representatives of the Alibaba group had met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov about its possibility there.
This interest by Alibaba is in line with China’s policy of creating a one belt, one road strategy wherein China would have economic partnerships with various nations as it seeks to build economic dominance. Aside from that, this also shows China’s growing presence as an eCommerce contender, especially with Alibaba.
It is not clear yet when would the planned logistics centre be built in France, though it shows that the company is willing to take on Amazon in becoming the world’s largest online retailer.
It is too early to tell though if Alibaba can match Amazon’s drive in expanding into new territories, though with much competition it could only mean more growth for eCommerce as a whole.
How would Alibaba’s expansion plans affect eCommerce? Post your comments below.
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Dave Furness
Dave is a Co-Founder of eSeller365. For over 10 years he has been involved with eCommerce with a particular interest in the marketplaces and the huge opportunities available for sellers when utilizing a multi-channel strategy. After a year of being the UK’s youngest eCommerce consultant, he built an education platform called UnderstandingE that showed the world how to utilize Magento as the “Third Generation of Multi-Channel software”.
Dave has also created a YouTube channel dedicated to entrepreneurship and eCommerce as well as a podcast dedicated to mental health awareness. When Dave isn’t working his main interests include learning and playing Chess, researching the Crypto and NFT space, and trying to find the nearest beach.