German supermarket chain lidl launched its own web shop in China on Alibaba’s online platform, Tmall Global, similar to what many other Western companies have done.
The web shop, launched this week, will offer several of Lidl’s private labels. European products have been very popular in China and Lidl therefore wants to introduce its Combino, Bellarom and Sondey brands to the nation. For the time being, it will focus on cereal and dry food brands, but the company will most likely expand its product range if the web shop is deemed a success.
Lidl will ship the products straight from Germany, imported through a subsidiary in Hong Kong. It is a different approach to competitor Aldi, which also has a shop on Tmall Global, but imports its products from Australia.
This is yet another Western company that will try to please the Chinese consumer through Tmall, thanks to Alibaba’s attempts to entice Western companies to use its platform. Chinese consumers have little faith in their own local products and are yearning for alternatives, which they now find on Tmall Global.
