windeln.de Opens Flagship Store on Alibaba Group's Tmall Global Platform in China

Munich, August 24, 2016 – windeln.de AG, one of the leading online retailers of baby and children's products in Germany, has opened a flagship store (windelnde.tmall.hk) on Tmall Global, the international B2C platform of the Alibaba Group. The aim of the partnership is to offer an additional platform to windeln.de's existing customer group in China while addressing new customers. Together with Terry von Bibra, Managing Director of Alibaba Group Germany, the opening ceremony took place in Hangzhou/China in July 2016.

Windeln.de brings German baby and children's products to China

Since the store launch, the numerous Tmall Global customers in windeln.de's new flagship store have been able to purchase milk formula products and car seats from well-known brand manufacturers such as Aptamil, Hipp, Beba and CONCORD, as well as other baby and children's products.

The partnership at a glance:

  • windeln.de's Tmall Global Flagship Store Offers Chinese Customers German Baby Products
  • With the help of a new express service, distribution takes place directly from Germany
  • Foreign brands benefit from access to 434 million Chinese consumers on Tmall Global

Over the past five years, windeln.de has already positioned itself as a reliable platform for shipping high-quality German products to China. In order to further advance the market development in China, the cooperation with Alibaba is now an important step through which the customer segment of cross-border shoppers will continue to grow. windeln.de guarantees fast delivery with the direct shipping of the products from Berlin/Germany to China. Depending on the customer's place of residence in China, the customer receives the package within six to ten days.

Tmall Global supports entry into the Chinese market

Alibaba Group's goal is to simplify trading worldwide. On the international platform Tmall Global, foreign retailers, such as windeln.de, can tap into China's online retail market without operating their own permanent establishment in the People's Republic of China. There are currently 7,700 brands available on Tmall Global from 53 different countries and regions. The platform provides companies with access to 434 million Chinese consumers who can purchase a variety of international branded products through Alibaba's shopping platforms.

On August 8, Tmall Global hosted the so-called "8.8. Sales Day", which enjoys great popularity in China. The event serves to introduce Chinese consumers to global brands that do not come from China. During the one-day campaign, Tmall Global showcased more than 2,000 products from abroad. In addition to windeln.de, other large companies from Germany such as FC Bayern Munich have already opened a flagship store on Tmall Global.

Terry von Bibra, Managing Director of Alibaba Group Germany, on the new partnership: "'Made in Germany' is and remains the decisive seal of quality for Chinese customers. Above all, everyday consumer products for families and their well-being, such as baby food, play a major role in Chinese e-commerce. Therefore, we are very pleased to have won with windeln.de one of the leading online retailers of baby and toddler products in Europe for Tmall Global. We are convinced that we can support windeln.de very well with our high-reach platform in opening up the Chinese market."

Konstantin Urban, co-founder and co-CEO of windeln.de: "We strongly believe that the opening of our official windeln.de shop on Tmall Global is a big step towards further expanding our Chinese baby products business and increasing sales with Chinese customers. With Alibaba's large customer base, we gain access to many millions of Chinese families with small children and can sell the high-quality German baby products to a large target group."

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group's goal is to simplify trading worldwide. In terms of gross merchandise volume, it is the largest trading company in the world. Founded in 1999, it provides the basic technological infrastructure and marketing reach to help retailers, brands and other companies offering products, services and digital content leverage the power of the Internet to connect with their users and customers. http://alibabagroup.com

Overview of figures for Q1 2016 and Q1 2015

Q1 2016 Q1 2015*
Revenues (in EUR million) 52.1 35.6
Gross profit from sales (in EUR million) 14.9 9.1
in % of revenues 28.6 25.6
Adjusted EBIT (in EUR million) -7.7 -1.3
in % of revenues -14.8 -3.6
Revenues by business segment (in EUR million)
English Shop 34.8 30.7
International Shops 12.2 1.4
Shopping Clubs 5.1 3.5
Adjusted EBIT contribution by business segment (in EUR million)
English Shop -0.2 1.7
in % of revenues -0.7 5.5
International Shops -2.9 -0.5
in % of revenues -23.7 -38.1
Shopping Clubs -1.2 -0.8
in % of revenues -24.1 -21.8
1Share-based payments were adjusted retroactively in the Q1 2015 comparative period. Details on the adjustment are given in the nine months report 2015.