Alibaba's Taobao to open retail store in Malaysia following SG launch

Alibaba Group is opening a Taobao store at MyTOWN Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur, in partnership with?MyTOWN and retailer Lumahgo New Retail. The new outlet will be named Taobao Store by Lumahgo and?comes shortly after Taobao launched its first concept store in Southeast Asia at Singapore's Funan mall.

Over the weekend, consumers had the chance to catch a sneak preview of the store via a pop-up which featured products from?local brands such as Redtick, BigboxAsia, Vivid Malaysia, DirectD Malaysia and Deep Furniture. These brands also joined the Singles' Day shopping festival for the first time, offering special deals for Malaysian shoppers. Additionally, the? mum-and-baby product channel Qinbaobei and Taobao Grocer also made their debut during this year's shopping festival for Malaysian consumers. According to Alibaba, around RM29 billion in promotions and coupons are up for grabs this year, which?Malaysian shoppers can use for over 200,000 brands and one million new products locally.

Earlier today, Alibaba announced that it hit a gross merchandise value of about?US$12.0 billion settled through Alipay within the first hour of its Singles' Day global shopping festival.?The top 10 countries which sold to China by GMV within the first hour are Japan, the US, South Korea, Australia, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada, and New Zealand.

Jess Lew, marketing manager of Tmall World Malaysia, said Malaysia is one of its priority markets and a critical pillar in its international strategy.

"The opening of our latest Taobao store demonstrates our commitment to local shoppers and brands, as we further localise services and experiences for the Malaysian market. We are excited to share a glimpse of this upcoming space as part of our 11.11 celebrations this year, emphasising how we will integrate local brands and merchants with our New Retail vision,? she said.

Fabian Kong, CEO of Lumahgo New Retail, added that its objective is to offer more touch-points for consumers of all ages in Malaysia, especially those who are not familiar with online shopping. "Having a physical space means shoppers will be able to touch and feel a variety of products in person before making a purchase on the Taobao app simply by scanning a QR code, with the help of our staff at the store," Kong explained.

Meanwhile,?Azhan Che Mat, centre manager of MyTOWN Shopping Centre, said that the digitalisation and personalisation of the?retail experience that will be introduced via Taobao Store by Lumahgo will be "an exciting addition" to its roster of innovative tenants. This comes as it aims to target non-tech savvy customers who prefer to shop offline, but also gives the classic retail experience a digital touch, through big data and technologies powered by Alibaba.

Check out how the Singapore store looks like:

In line with this year?s 11.11 theme ?Every Single Wish Counts?, Alibaba also announced that three orphanages in the Klang Valley, Rumah Charis ? Home For The Children, Rumah Sayangan, and Rumah K.I.D.S. ? will receive brand new furniture, books and other functional items sponsored by Lumahgo. The "Corner of Hope" will be customised based on the needs of each orphanage, for areas within the facilities that will benefit from a fresh new look. The makeovers will be completed by Chinese New Year 2020.