To support the growing merchants on the platform, Tmall has initiated the “Thousand Stars Plan”, aiming to recruit 1,000 high-potential brands from new trending categories every year.
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What is that exactly ?
This campaign from Alibaba provides a “3+1” support service, with the goal of cultivating 1,000 brands with a turnover of over 10 million, 100 brands with a turnover of over 100 million, and more than 10 brands with a turnover over 1 billion, all over a three-year period.
The President of Taotian Group’s Brand Business Development Center, Ao Wen, said that with the country’s recent strong promotion of consumption, based on platform data and insights into the industry, Tmall believes that China will enter a period of new brand development in the next 1-3 years and 3-5 years.
Fast development of new brand in China
The development of these new brands will be much faster than before.
Therefore, Taobao and Tmall will take more actions, by consolidating the cornerstone of platform development – the merchants, to seize this opportunity.
At this year’s Taobao Tmall 618 Merchants Conference, the newly formed Taotian Group established three major strategies: “Customer First, Prosperous Ecosystem, and Technology Driven”. The “Prosperous Ecosystem” strategy looks from the merchants’ perspective.
Taobao and Tmall recently introduced a series of new measures to rejuvenate the merchant ecosystem, including optimizing the experience for new merchants, lowering the entry barriers, and providing brand growth solutions.
The Blue Star Plan
On July 14, Tmall’s official recruitment website officially launched the “Blue Star Plan”, focusing on supporting three types of new merchants: cutting-edge brands, content-driven merchants, and strong-quality merchants. It provides financial and resource support for new merchants. In mid-July, for the first time, Taobao and Tmall opened membership operations to all merchants. At the end of the month, the Taotian Group established the KA Service Department for leading merchants, offering them resources and strategies.
The General Manager of Taotian Group’s Brand Business Development Center, An Tang, said in an interview with media outlets including Jiemian News, “From these plans, it’s evident that the platform is now structurally viewing merchants. In the past, we didn’t have brand tiers, only the concept of brand categories. Now, we hope that all types of merchants can find their unique growth path on the platform.”
Brands have indeed experienced growth benefits on Tmall in the past, but now, Alibaba is reassessing and balancing the interests and values between small and medium-sized merchants and brand merchants.
“From a quantitative perspective, mid-tier merchants certainly make up a large portion of Tmall. The basic principle of the platform conforms to the 80-20, or even the 90-10 rule. The health of a platform is determined by the ‘waist’, so this year, we hope to foster robust growth in this mid-section,” said An Tang.
Latest data reveals that in the second quarter of 2023, the number of new merchants on Tmall increased by 75% year-on-year, surpassing the total number from the first half of the previous year. As a platform that firmly grasps e-commerce transactions, Taobao and Tmall’s stable operating environment, performance capabilities, and customer service system continue to attract many brand merchants.
Selected Brands for the Chinese Market
For brands selected for the “Thousand Stars Plan”, Tmall will assist in building their brand foundations, providing exclusive mentorship, solutions, and protection, as well as launching a multi-billion “New Brand Investment Special Alliance”, to offer financial support.
In terms of exclusive mentorship, Tmall representatives will provide brands with 1-on-1 brand mentorship, set up exclusive networking events for brand founders, organize industry breakthrough camps and 360-degree brand training camps, partner with ecosystem partners for brand operator talent training, and offer a full-cycle growth solution.
the “DIGITAL Ecosystem Laboratory” providing customized services for “Thousand Stars Plan” brands, offering operational diagnosis, business opportunity insights, foresight into emerging trend tracks, and waiving fees for advanced versions of business management products, including Business Advisor·Market Insight Module, Brand Data Engine, Strategy Center, Wanxiang Platform, Damo Disc, and other strategy insights and business tools.
The Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance
At the same time, Tmall, in collaboration with Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance (AACA), has established intellectual property protection for the “Thousand Stars Plan” brands. They proactively help brands identify and control infringing actions on the platform, offer online complaint channels, dedicated follow-ups, and offline law enforcement cooperation, safeguarding brand intellectual property and original designs.
Based on this, Tmall, in partnership with a multi-billion investment fund, has launched the “New Brand Investment Special Alliance”.
The first batch of institutions participating in the alliance’s launch ceremony includes well-known funds with rich investment experience in the consumer sector such as Jingwei Ventures, Yuan Sheng Capital, Ri Chu Capital, Feng Rui Capital, and C2 Capital. The alliance aims to provide a smoother connection between high-potential brand merchants and market capital, offering financial support, industry experience, and market expansion.
“We hope to do more and think more for new brands in their brand-building journey, making ‘brand creation on Tmall’ much easier,” Ao Wen stated. The emergence and growth of new brands drive new consumption growth, meeting the new demands of users
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