The Spanish giant announced the strategic partnership with China’s e-commerce tycoon Alibaba at a signing ceremony on Sunday where 28 players, including Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, were present. The 10-time victor of the Champions League has now become the second major European club to open stores on Tmall after Bayern Munich of Germany.
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The official Real Madrid store will sell a selection of the club’s merchandise including official player jerseys, club apparel for men, women, and children, and club memorabilia from mouse pads to lunch box packs.
According to Jeff Zhang, President of Alibaba Group’s China Retail Marketplaces: “Tmall Supermarket will draw on Alibaba Group’s complete eCommerce ecosystem – including Alibaba’s advantage in logistics, strength in online payments, big data and cloud computing, to bring consumers the most convenient and secure online shopping experience for quality products”. Real Madrid fans would now be able to directly purchase the club’s genuine merchandise through the online outlet. It features an interactive fitting room function so fans can choose outfits and products from their favourite players. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez welcomed the deal, saying it would help the club reach more than 600 million Chinese customers online.
Florentino Perez said: “Today, we continue to reach out to this incredible country”. Launched last year, Tmall Global has struggled to gain much traction across Chinese consumers, compared to Alibaba’s other platforms. In the future, special-edition or exclusive products will be offered.
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Real Madrid is the first club in the world to have opened offices in China, headquartered in the Beijing capital. By joining Tmall Global, merchants can conduct business from overseas without the need for physical operations within mainland China.
