Alibaba Group Kicks Off Its 2015 11.11 Global Shopping Celebration Plans

On the online story, you will find food items items from Metro Cash & Carry and non-food from its real supermarket brand.

The launch of the Sports Group serves as one of the latest moves from Alibaba in China’s sports industry after the e-commerce titan invested 1.2 billion yuan (about 192 million USA dollars) to own 50 percent stake of Guangzhou Evergrande, China’s most successful soccer club and former Asian Champions League victor. “Opening the flagship store on Tmall Global shows our clear confidence in the Chinese market, where we hold a solid commercial position”, Olaf Koch, board chairman of Metro, was quoted in the joint press release as saying. “This latest innovative platform enables us to deliver more quality imported goods and German brands to the Chinese customers through our competence in global sourcing and supply chain”.

Alibaba claimed to hold an 80% market share of Chinese e-commerce in a 2014 SEC filing, dominating the online retail space despite competition from rivals such as JD.com (Tencent). With the opening of the exclusive flagship store on Tmall.com, Chinese consumers will be able to purchase a wide range of authentic, high-quality Robert Mondavi wines bottled and shipped from the wineries in the USA, including labels such as Robert Mondavi Winery, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, and Twin Oaks by Robert Mondavi. But worries on margins, slower growth in China and a sell-off in tech ADRs have all weighed on its shares, which now trade firmly below the IPO price of $68.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock.

The company closed it last trading session at $1.80.

The partnership will help Metro become more local while aiding Alibaba’s internationalization, said experts.

Alibaba stock is up more than 3% at $66.20 in pre-market trading today as of 07:41 AM EDT. The company operates around 2,200 stores in 30 countries and has a headcount of around 250,000 employees.

Moreover, Alibaba’s globalization strategy is on the rise, as the company continues to form strategic ties with global names to enhance the customer experience in China.