The partnership started five years ago with a single Tmall store, its platform for brands and retailers.

This strategic partnership will expand distribution channels, especially for consumers in rural areas; develop cross-border ecommerce and make the Tmall Global Unilever store home to Unilever products from around the world; expand application of Big Data to optimise Unilever’s digital advertising strategy through Alimama, Alibaba’s online marketing business; deepen collaboration in Alibaba’s Blue Star program where each product is tagged with a unique QR code that allows the consumer to verify its authenticity and origin; and innovate supply chain management and offline distribution models.

The upcoming Unilever Week on Tmall, scheduled for July 22 to 24, will celebrate the start of this partnership agreement. Unilever China opened its first Tmall flagship store in June 2011.

Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, said: “Alibaba Group and Unilever will jointly innovate in big data analytics application, cross-border e-commerce, and supply chain management. In this rapidly changing business landscape, we are committed to continually provide greater value to merchants and better experiences to shoppers.”