Selling online in China is the preferred choice for many foreigners who wish to penetrate the Chinese market. It’s not strange as the market has literally exploded the past years and will continue to grow in the future.
If you plan to sell on Tmall (or Tmall Global), the easiest option is to find a Tmall Partner (TP) who can help you through the process. Not only are they experienced and have a presence in China, they can save you much time and money.
There’s a catch though. It’s not easy to find summarized information about Tmall Partners, about their founders, their management, what clients they serve and what marketplaces they’re active on. Therefore, I’ve written this article where I list some of the biggest and most popular Tmall Partners in China and Hong Kong.
Introductory remark
The companies are listed in a random order.
1. Azoya Group
Azoya Group was founded by Alex Huang and Don Zhao in 2013, it’s one of the biggest Tmall Partners in China and has offices in 12 different locations worldwide.
Prior to co-founding Azoya, Alex acted as General Manager of a big IT company in China with responsibility over more than 2000 employees. Don Zhao on the other hand has a long experience of working internationally, mainly in the telecom industry. Both of them are well-known in the China e-commerce industry.
The company currently employs more than 220 professionals and has won different awards, for example:
Awarded Multichannel Supplier of the Year by Sigma Healthcare
Marketplaces
Include major platforms like Tmall, JD (Jingdong), VIP, Kaola and RED.
Clients served
Azoya has helped a number of large and medium sized companies, many operating in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. You can also find clients selling food, clothes and more.
Some examples are:
- Sigma Healthcare
- Pharmacy Direct
- Skin Chemists London
- Beauty Price
Locations
Mainland China, Japan, Korea, UK, Germany, Belgium, Taiwan, France, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, United States.
Head office
Shenzhen, China.
2. Web2Asia
Web2Asia is one of the biggest and most reputable Tmall Partners in China, George Godula and Lac Tran co-founded the company in 2006. They have an impressive track record and been quoted in a number of newspapers like the Washington Post, New York Times and Techcrunch. George is also an angel investor and involved in charity work.
The company employs more than 200 people and has won a number of awards over the years, for example:
- Tmall Global Brand of the Year with Hansgrohe
- Tmall Global 2017 Super Brand of the Year with dm Drogerie Markt
- Star-rated Tmall TP Tmall Trade Partner
- Digital A-List Winner 2017
Marketplaces
Include the major online platforms like Tmall Global, Tmall, JD worldwide, JD and Kaola.
Clients served
Web2Asia mainly helps larger and medium sized companies including:
- Procter & Gamble
- Lufthansa
- Logitech
- Starbucks
- Adidas
Head office
Shanghai, Mainland China.
3. Export Now
Export Now is a well established e-commerce agency which was founded in 2010 by Frank Lavin, former US Undersecretary of Commerce and Ambassador to Singapore. Export Now offers an easy, turnkey solution to US brands wanting to take advantage of the China market to accelerate their growth.
The company currently has 70+ employees and has the highest rating from Tmall for its TP services.
Marketplaces
You can get help to sell your products on Tmall Global, Tmall, JD, JD Worldwide and other eCommerce platforms.
Clients served
Export Now mainly helps small and medium sized clients to start selling in China, some include:
- NFL
- Real Techniques
- Ocean Spray
- Nutiva
Locations
US and Shanghai.
Head office
Akron, Ohio (United States).
4. Gentlemen Marketing Agency
Gentlemen Marketing Agency was co-founded by Olivier Verot and Philip Qian in 2012, they are originally from France and China. Both of them have a long experience of working on the ground in China and managed to build up one of the most well-known e-commerce websites in the country.
Marketplaces
Include Tmall Global, Tmall, JD Worldwide, JD and other platforms.
Clients served
The company mainly helps large and medium sized clients to start selling in China. Some of them include:
- Ferrero
- Volvo
- Vogue
- Hennessy
Head office
Shanghai, Mainland China.
5. Baozun
Baozun is the biggest e-commerce business partner in the industry and currently accounts for 25% of the market. The company was co-founded in 2006 by Vincent Wenbin Qiu and Junhua Wu, the management consists of both foreigners and Chinese nationals.
Baozun was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2015, which simply speaks for itself.
Market places
Include all major marketplaces like JD, Tmall, Redbook and Amazon.
Clients served
The company mainly handles clients in appliances, apparel, 3C, home furnishing, cosmetics, automotive, insurance and fast-moving consumer goods. Examples of clients are:
- BYD
- Brita
Locations
Baozun has a presence in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, United States and Mainland China.
Head office
Shanghai, Mainland China.
6. 2Open.biz
2Open is a well-known and established e-commerce agency, the company was founded in 2011 by Luis S. Galan Lozano, originally from Spain. Luis has a long experience in e-commerce and previously worked for EBay and acted as the Head of Digital & Commerce Business Development at El Pais.
The company currently has 30-50 employees and was recognized by RTVE, Spanish National Radio and TV, in the category of “internationalization”.
Marketplaces
2Open works mainly with product launches on Tmall and JD (Jingdong).
Clients served
The company serves many Spanish clients, but not excluding other countries. Some examples are:
- Port De Barcelona
- Nestle
- Vigente Gandia
- Lottusse
Locations
Madrid, Spain.
Shanghai and Weihai, Mainland China.
7. Voyage One
Voyage One is an established and well-known Tmall Partner in China, the company was founded by Dennis Zhang in 2002. Being one of the pioneers in the industry, the company has expanded much over the years and currently employs over 200 professionals, serving large multinational clients in the US and other countries.
Dennis has a long history of entrepreneurship and previously founded Devicom in 2002 which managed to reach USD 30 million in revenue.
Marketplaces
The company lets clients sell their products through their own online department store, Liking. Your products can reach the major marketplaces like Tmall Global, depending on your product type.
Clients served
The company mainly helps medium sized and larger clients to sell products in China, some examples are:
- Wella
- Spalding
- Champion
- Real Madrid
Locations
Los Angeles, United States.
Shanghai, Hangzhou and harbin, Mainland China.
Head office
United States (Los Angeles).
8. Cleargo
Cleargo is one of the biggest Tmall Partners in Hong Kong and was founded by Charles Chan in 2009. The company has grown much since its inception and currently has a dozen of employees spread out in three different countries: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore.
Some awards won by the company include:
- Best E-Commerce Solution (Silver) – Marketing Magazine’s eCommAs Awards 2017
- Best E-Commerce Marketing Agency (Bronze) at Marketing Magazine’s eCommAs Awards 2017
Marketplaces
Cleargo help foreigners to get access to the major eCommerce platforms like JD, Tmall and others.
Clients served
Cleargo mainly works with medium and large sized clients, for example:
- Kenneth Cole
- Philips
- Gore Tex
- Joyce
Locations
Mainland China (Shanghai), Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.
Head office
Hong Kong
9. TLG Commerce
TLG was originally founded in Barcelona in 1999 and became a global company when opening offices in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in 2008. The company was founded by Marius Rossell and currently has around 80 employees. He previously worked at Capgemini where he held different management positions, before starting TLG Commerce.
The company won the TICanola prize during the UAE Awards 2015.
Marketplaces
You can get help to sell your products on Tmall Global, Tmall, JD, JD Worldwide and other eCommerce platforms.
Clients served
TLG mainly helps medium sized and larger clients to start selling in China, some include:
- Lacoste
- Volkswagen
- Muji
- Media Markt
- Herman Miller
Locations
Barcelona, Spain.
Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, China.
Head office
Barcelona, Spain.
How much does it cost to hire a Tmall Partner?
First of all, let’s have a look at the options you normally have when choosing a Tmall Partner:
1) Open your own dedicated Tmall store with the help of a partner.
2) Sell your products via the partner’s own flagship store on Tmall.
The second option is the preferred choice if you’re an SME, in fact, many companies won’t even qualify to the list of companies who get access to Tmall. This option is less expensive and preferable if you want to try out the Chinese market.
So how much do you need to pay if you sell via a partner’s own flagship store?
First of all, we need to break down the different costs involved to get a better understanding:
- Entry fee
- Running costs
- Revenue shares
(Other costs might be added depending on what Tmall Partner you choose).
1. Entry fee
This is a fee paid up front to the Tmall Partner in order to get started.
The fee can differ much depending on a number of factors, for example: how many products you want to sell, what kind of products you want to sell and which partner you choose. Giving you a ballpark price, entry fees normally start at USD 5000 – 10,000, but can be significantly higher.
Costs covered by the entry fee (examples):
- To analyze your product
- Confirming with the China customs that the products can be imported
- Creating product descriptions
- Preparing and designing your own page on Tmall
- Translations
- Logistic setups
- Warehouse preparation
- Others
2. Running costs
Once you have paid the entry fee, you also need to pay for services to maintain your Tmall store. It’s not uncommon that more established partners charge as much as USD 10,000 – 20,000 per month to keep the machinery up and running.
As mentioned, you can also find partners that are more suitable to SME’s, offering a higher revenue share (%), but charging you significantly lower running costs.
3. Revenue shares
If you decide to set up your own Tmall store on your own, you will need to pay commissions and yearly fees to Tmall, there’s no way to get around this.
Tmall Partners offer different revenue shares, usually stretching between 5-20%. For partners who charge lower entry fees and running costs, the revenue shares are normally higher and can be as high as 30-40%.
How can I find the right Tmall Partner?
Some people have a misconception that they can simply go out and find the first best Tmall Partner. But it’s not that easy. Even if the most established brands handle most product categories, you’ll most likely work with a smaller partner in case you’re an SME.
The size of the Tmall Partner
If you’re a smaller company and visit a Tmall Partner who has hundreds of employees, catering brands like Adidas and Levi’s, you’ll probably need to find a smaller partner that charges lower fees as well.
It’s not uncommon that smaller companies get the cold hand or simply ignored by the biggest companies.
Product categories
Some Tmall Partners focus solely on some specific product categories, might it be food, health care products, clothes or electronics. Choosing a Tmall Partner who has a proven track record and a good knowledge about your specific product category is crucial for a smooth launch, to maximize sales and to meet customer satisfaction.
Marketplace
Even if most Tmall Partners have access to other platforms like JD, Kaola and VIP, you need to confirm this up front. While Tmall focuses mainly on clothes and cosmetics for example, JD (Jindong) focuses mainly on electronics and home appliances.
Do you plan to sell food? Then Kaola is probably the website to go to.
Location of the Tmall Partner
It can be preferable to work with a partner who’s located in the same country, or at least with proximity to where you live. There a number of reasons to this:
a. You are in the same time zone.
b. You can visit the partner in person more easily.
c. Sometimes, you even speak the same language.
d. The partner has probably helped clients from your country and managed product categories that are often exported from that country.