12 01732 759725 This year, we have brought CoCreate Pitch over to Europe and opened it up to all global SMBs, with no limit on the type of product they can pitch. It could be a consumer product, it could be an industrial product, it could be some great innovation. The whole purpose of CoCreate is to convey the idea that everybody can co-create products and business ideas with Alibaba.com, so we would encourage SMBs of all sizes and at all stages of their development to enter to be in with a chance of winning not just financial funding but also the extra visibility we will give them. TR: You mention the importance of the European and the UK markets. Can you give me some idea of Alibaba.com’s growth in Europe, and whether that’s being driven by buyers or suppliers. ML: We have seen very promising growth both on the buyer side and the seller side. The number of buyers in Europe in April and May was 37.7% higher than in the same period last year. In the UK, the number of buyers increased by over 53%, outpacing the average for Europe as a whole. We believe that one of the drivers for this growth is the effort we have put into strengthening our global and European supply network. For example, at the start of our financial year the number of products offered by European sellers had already increased five-fold. We strongly believe that developing and investing our efforts on the supply side, will drive growth on the buyer side, where there is huge demand from European buyers to source both locally and globally. This is a strength of our platform – a very diverse supply network, with suppliers from key industrial regions around the world, and a very diverse choice of product categories, covering almost 40 industrial verticals not just with consumer finished products but also raw materials and parts and components. TR: What is your business model? How do you generate revenue? ML: Our business is based on a subscription model for sellers, a little like a digitalised trade fair. Sellers, i.e. suppliers, pay an annual fee to have a presence on the Alibaba.com platform, which allows them to showcase their products to buyers from almost 200 countries and regions around the world. They can invest in paid marketing global suppliers and helping SMEs in the UK and Europe boost exports and find global manufacturing partners. Technology Reseller (TR): Why are you launching CoCreate in the UK? Michelle Lau (ML): Our platform and our digital solutions mainly serve SMBs, and we know SMBs are the backbone of the UK and European economies, so these are particularly important markets for Alibaba.com. We believe Europe and the UK have a lot of potential to grow, especially when it comes to exports and digital sourcing and procurement. We have already seen very good growth in the number of European buyers and sellers on Alibaba.com and in the range of products they are selling, and we’re confident this momentum will continue. CoCreate Europe is going to be an excellent occasion for us to showcase all the platform tools and AI tools we have been developing and the resources we can provide to European SMBs. Last year we were lucky enough to hold a series of events during Paris 2024, so London, being one of the most digitalised economies and an important global hub, was an obvious choice to host the first CoCreate Europe. Hopefully, in the future we will hold CoCreate events in other European cities. TR: Is CoCreate an exhibition, with suppliers meeting buyers, or is it more of an Alibaba customer event? ML: It’s a mix of the two. First, there will be a great selection of exhibitors, mainly suppliers from global industrial regions that we are bringing over to showcase their latest innovations. Then, there is the insight and sharing part, a series of conferences and workshops and a learning centre where visitors will be able to discover everything about the Alibaba.com platform, the digital tools we are developing and the different insights and connections they can leverage to grow their e-commerce business. Last but not least, CoCreate Europe will stage the final round of CoCreate Pitch, the pitch competition we have created to give financial support and visibility to SMBs that want to showcase innovative product ideas they would like to develop. As Donald Trump’s mercurial approach to trade deals and tariffs continues to cause friction and confusion, many exporters to the US will be looking to develop alternative markets for their goods, which makes the European launch of Alibaba. com’s CoCreate B2B event very timely. The Chinese-owned platform for global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce has been hosting its annual customer and trade event in Las Vegas since 2023, providing an opportunity for North American SMEs to develop relationships with selected product manufacturers/ suppliers and learn how to use the Alibaba. com platform to maximise the benefits of global digital sourcing. This year, for the first time, Alibaba. com will be bringing this flagship event to Europe as well. Taking place at ExCeL London on 14th November, a couple of months after the third US event, CoCreate Europe is expected to build on growing interest in digital sourcing from European sellers and B2B buyers. Underlining the platform’s value in taking a product idea from prototype to global distribution, CoCreate Europe is also hosting the final round of Alibaba.com’s $1 million product-based pitch competition, CoCreate Pitch (see box), which is open to global SMEs for the first time. In this Q&A, Michelle Lau, Managing Director of Alibaba.com France, explains how Alibaba.com is helping B2B buyers in the UK and Europe source products from With Michelle Lau, Managing Director of Alibaba.com, France INTERVIEW Michelle Lau Q&A
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