Wine Australia signs MoU with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba

Wine Australia and Chinese multinational e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to better showcase Australian wine on ee-commerce platform, Tmall.

Mike Hu, Tmall’s FMCG CEO and Stuart Barclay, general manager marketing, Wine Australia

“Working with Tmall will significantly enhance the ultimate consumer engagement,” said Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark, noting that the signing of this MoU demonstrated the strong engagement of Chinese consumers in online retail and their growing interest in Australian wine.

“Tmall.com is China’s premier online branded shopping platform and the most visited business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail website in China. By partnering with Tmall, we can collaborate on many aspects and activities that further promote genuine Australian wine and do so in a way that supports the integrity of the brands. It’s also an opportunity to educate Alibaba staff about the quality and diversity of Australia’s premium wines through education and awareness development’, he added.

The signing of this agreement follows a $50m Export and Regional Support Package from the Australian Government to help amplify the promotion of Australian wine on the world stage and to leverage and grow international tourism to create demand and build awareness for premium Australian wine, China a key market.

This separate agreement is expected to complement those efforts, facilitating co-operation between the Chinese retail giant and Australia with regards to promotion and education of the Chinese market in relation to Australian wine.

The MoU signing took place at this week’s Vinexpo Hong Kong, where Australia is celebrating its ‘Country of Honour’ role with 151 exhibitors showcasing 225 wine brands from more than 51 regions – activities that have themselves been supported by the ‘$50m Package’.