Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group BABA recently appointed two senior business leaders to carry out its operations in Germany and France.
Alibaba appointed Terry von Bibra and Sébastien Badault as managing directors of Alibaba Group Germany and Alibaba Group France, respectively. The appointments are effective immediately and both will report to Alibaba president, Michael Evans.
Bibra and Badault
Bibra is former Chief Retail Officer Omnichannel for German department store chain Karstadt. He also had a major role behind the establishment of Amazon AMZN in Europe where he was responsible for online marketing and business development. Bibra had also served in a number of capacities at Yahoo! YHOO including Managing Director of Yahoo! Germany, Vice President of Central Europe and Vice President Marketplaces for Yahoo! EMEA.
Badault, on the other hand, has been involved in the French operations of international online and e-commerce brands for the past 15 years. He was responsible for leading sales and marketing teams to boost local market share and online ecosystems for both Amazon France and Google GOOGL France.
Most recently, as Global Account Director, he bolstered Google’s strategic customers in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Before joining Google, Badault was the European Business Development Manager for Amazon.
Conclusion
In November, the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma said in an interview that the company is pushing to generate more than 50% of its revenue outside of China.
Therefore, the current move is in sync with the aim and also with Alibaba’s efforts to expand in the European market, which is a significant part of its globalization strategy to serve as a “gateway to China” for global brands and businesses of all sizes. Also, Alibaba plans to open country offices in Munich, Germany and Paris, France as a part of this strategy and also to provide better services to existing and potential partners in Europe.
Alibaba’s main concern in Europe is to connect with present local allies and assist European brands, retailers, small businesses and government partners to recognize the prospects China offers and how Alibaba can offer them an access to this market.
In this regard, the offices in Germany and France will be involved in helping current partners and local brands, retailers and government partners identify the most appropriate local products for the Chinese market, help retailers trade on Alibaba’s platforms, support outbound and inbound logistics, and assist online payments for Chinese customers and offline payments for Chinese tourists.
Therefore, for the purpose, Alibaba has been hiring powerful leaders in Germany, France, Italy and the UK to cater to the needs of local brands and merchants with the capabilities of its platform. The newly appointed leaders have vast experience with regard to the European markets and will help the e-commerce giant’s offices in Germany and France achieve their objectives.
Alibaba has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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