Since the Alibaba group signed an agreement with El Corte Inglés last November, the eCommerce platform AliExpress has been working to allow the inclusion of European brands, a project that has now become a reality. The agreement aims to promote the development of new business opportunities within a global eCommerce framework, including cloud computing solutions, digital innovation and mobile payments.

The department store chain signed another agreement with the Chinese gateway in June, whereby the Spanish company will use the platform to boost online sales of its products in central Europe and Russia. The first of El Corte Inglés' brands to become available on AliExpress was Unit, and this has now been joined by Easy Wear, Fórmula Joven, Green Coast, Free Style, Boomerang and Mountain Pro, thanks to this new agreement.

Logistical resources
AliExpress will use El Corte Inglés' logistical resources to deliver the products it sells in Spain, and its shopping centers to make returns easier, and in exchange will provide the department store chain with consulting services and technological support.

But El Corte Inglés is not AliExpress's only logistical provider in Spain. Last March the platform signed an agreement with Correos, in which the Alibaba group's own logistical company, Cainiao Network, was also represented. The objective is to help Spanish SMEs grow in the new global markets.

Market openings
According to this new agreement, Correos will work together with Cainiao's smart logistical network to make it easier to ship products between China and Spain. For its part, AliExpress will provide support for Spanish small and medium enterprises looking to sell to other markets in Europe and Latin America, and help them grow worldwide. Correos will also allow the Chinese company to use its almost 2,400 branches to install displays to showcase the products available on its platform.

According to the Alibaba group, Spanish SMEs are increasingly using this platform to sell outside Spain. So far Spanish sellers have access to 19 European countries, and the company is currently working to offer new markets. Although the SMEs will have a range of logistical options available to deliver their products, if they prefer they can continue to use their trusted carriers.

The Asian giant highlights that this year Spain has overtaken the United States to become the world’s number two tourist destination, behind France. Of the almost 82 million tourists who visited Spain in 2018, 700,000 came from China, and this figure is set to rise to almost one million in 2020 according to the World Tourism Organization.