Jack Ma and
Alibaba coming to Toronto on
September 25 to discuss China opportunity with Canadian companies,
agribusinesses, entrepreneurs, and the travel and hospitality
industry
TORONTO and HANGZHOU, China, Aug.
10, 2017 /CNW/ - Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) today
announced Gateway Canada, a one
day event to educate Canadian companies, agribusinesses,
entrepreneurs, and the travel and hospitality industry
about tapping the rapidly growing demand among Chinese consumers
for imports and international tourism experiences. The event will
take place on September 25, 2017 at
the Enercare Centre in Toronto.
"Canada's high-quality
products, fresh food and travel experiences are highly sought-after
by China's large and growing
middle class population who are looking online for the best
products and experiences around the world. Modern China has the potential to be a big
opportunity for Canadian businesses of all sizes. At Gateway Canada
in Toronto we will talk about the
bright future of opportunity between China and Canada," said Jack
Ma, executive chairman and founder of Alibaba Group.
Expected to attract approximately 500 businesses from across
Canada, Gateway Canada will
feature remarks from local entrepreneurs and a keynote address by
Jack Ma. Attendees will have the
opportunity to participate in category breakout sessions, business
solution sessions and marketplace networking opportunities. They
will also learn about how Alibaba's online travel marketplace and
payment solutions can help Canadian businesses in serving the
rapidly expanding outbound Chinese travel and tourism market.
Below is a letter from Michael
Evans, president of Alibaba Group, inviting Canadian
companies, agribusinesses, entrepreneurs, and the travel and
hospitality industry to Gateway Canada:
Dear Fellow Canadians,
Canada has so much to offer the
world -- from the seafood in our crystal-clear waters, to amazing
agricultural products you can't find anywhere else, innovative,
active lifestyle apparel brands like Lululemon or Roots and a warm,
open environment for visitors to our shores. I grew up in
Toronto and now work at Alibaba.
Canadian products and experiences are some of the most sought-after
in China and around the world. In
fact, China represents one of the
biggest opportunities Canadian business has ever seen.
Here's why. China's large and
fast growing middle class is expected to exceed 600 million people
in 5 years, which is larger than the total population of
North America. Last year,
China became the world's largest
retail market, with spending topping US$4.84
trillion. By next year, China's online spending will be greater than
the rest of the world combined. And Chinese consumers are looking
for the high-quality products and travel experiences that
Canada offers.
At Alibaba, we can help you take advantage of this growing
appetite for consumption through our robust ecosystem of businesses
that spans e-commerce marketplaces, with more than 500 million
active users; electronic settlements, with fast, low-cost payments;
and logistics, which ensures products are delivered seamlessly and
efficiently, all underpinned by one of the leading global cloud
technology infrastructures.
We are a company dedicated to making it easier for everyone to
do business anywhere. Today, we operate the world's largest online
marketplace with more than US$500
billion in sales across our platforms. Think of us as a
virtual mall with nearly half-a-billion shoppers buying from
sellers who operate their own online storefronts. We are already a
gateway for thousands of global brands and retailers as well as
millions of small businesses who sell to Chinese consumers. And, we
want to be the gateway for Canadian businesses to tap into the
China consumer opportunity.
On September 25 at Enercare Centre
in Toronto, Alibaba will host
Gateway Canada, where we will explain the China consumption opportunity and show
participants how to access it through Alibaba.
You'll hear practical stories from brands already doing business
with China and inspiring tales
like that of Clearwater, the
Nova Scotia-based seafood
distributor that sold 100,000 lobsters to Chinese consumers on our
platform in a single day during one of Alibaba's big annual
promotions. Clearwater's story
shows the vast potential for business success in tapping
China's middle class
consumers.
For our friends in the travel and hospitality sectors, we
welcome you to learn about our online travel marketplace, Fliggy, a
gateway to Canada for Chinese
tourists, hosting a broad range of merchants, travel products and
services. And we'll introduce you to Alipay, our online payments
solution that makes it easy for its 500 million Chinese consumers
to pay for anything, no matter where they are in the world.
Canadian brands – Arc'teryx, Jamieson, Aldo, SunRype and many
others – are well known to China's
rapidly expanding middle class. Hundreds of Canadian brands already
sell their products through our e-commerce platforms to Chinese
consumers seeking premium seafood, packaged food and beverages,
fashion and apparel, health supplements, and mother and baby
products.
And, Canada, with an ethnic
Chinese population of 1.6 million and a vibrant Chinese culture, is
highly regarded as a destination for immigrants and tourists,
alike. Around 600,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada last year, spending well over
C$1.25 billion and supporting nearly
7,500 service-sector jobs. With 2018 designated as "Year of
Canada-China Tourism," these numbers are set to rise.
But we're just at the beginning of this special relationship.
There's much more potential to unlock.
Alibaba can help you get your products into the hands of
China's burgeoning middle class
consumer. We can help Chinese visitors to Canada access amazing travel, tourism and
hospitality services and experiences.
I'm proud of my Canadian heritage and proud to work at Alibaba,
where I've been affectionately nicknamed "Explorer" – an homage to
Dr. Norman Bethune, a Canadian who
did so much for Sino-Canadian relations and who remains beloved in
China to this day.
I want to encourage my fellow Canadians to explore the
opportunities that today's China
presents for all Canadian businesses.
J'espère que vous allez nous joindre à Toronto ce septembre.
Sincerely,
Michael Evans
President, Alibaba Group
Additional Information
- Register for Gateway Canada: www.gateway17.com
- Learn more about the China
opportunity: http://www.alizila.com/gateway-to-china/
- Follow @AlibabaGroup on Twitter
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group's mission is to make
it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the
future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers
will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company
that lasts at least 102 years.
SOURCE Alibaba Group