UK-headquartered health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett has announced a “flagship store launch” on the Chinese e-commerce site Tmall.
The Alibaba-owned platform holds 58% market-share in China.
Over 40 of the most popular Holland & Barrett products globally have been launched on the site, and early reports suggest the brand is resonating with the Chinese consumer. The best-selling products so far have been collagen and fish oils, with particular interest in the “beauty from within” Vitamins category.
Holland & Barrett is already popular with Chinese customers in the UK, Europe and Middle East, and has long standing partnerships in South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong where it takes part in popular sales promotions such as Chinese New Year and Singles’ Day.
Commenting on the opportunity the China market represents, Tom Pamment, head of international business development, said:
“We chose to launch our flagship store on Tmall Global because of the platform’s reach and good alignment to our target customer base. It also means we can leverage the wider Alibaba ecosystem, from payments to logistics”
“We have been really encouraged by the initial performance and we’re excited by the potential for Holland & Barrett to become a destination for local Chinese customers who are seeking a trusted, high quality health and wellness brand with strong provenance, exciting innovation and offering great value.
“We chose to launch our flagship store on Tmall Global because of the platform’s reach and good alignment to our target customer base. It also means we can leverage the wider Alibaba ecosystem, from payments to logistics. This was a critical factor in our decision to launch with Tmall Global who really helped make sure we had a successful launch on the platform.”
To support its debut on Tmall, Holland & Barrett has also launched three new social channels across Weibo, WeChat and RED.
Zarina Kanji, business development for Tmall Health & Wellness and Food & Beverage Brands, Alibaba Group Europe, commented: “Holland & Barrett is a fantastic British brand and we are excited to work with them in China as part of their broader global expansion plans. We have seen an increased interest from Chinese consumers for quality health and wellbeing products which has been further accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese consumers want to try and learn about new products especially vitamins and supplements that can help to support a healthy lifestyle. With its extensive range of products, I believe Holland & Barrett is well placed to meet the demand from this fast-growing consumer base.”
