However, this initiative has had mixed results as a flood of small businesses have joined its European platform, AliExpress, in recent months but some larger brands are holding back, according to Reuter’s sources.
AliExpress has approached well-known brands including Mango, Benetton and Spanish fashion group Tendam, owner of Cortefiel, to appear on the site with limited success, according to five sources involved in the approaches who declined to be named because the discussions were confidential.
Both Benetton and Tendam declined to comment officially on whether they were approached. Neither brand sells on AliExpress but they do sell on Amazon. Mango said it did not sell on AliExpress with no further comment. It does not sell on Amazon.
AliExpress has waived monthly rates for sellers in Spain to attract their business while commissions for goods sold are set at 5% to 8%, according to a senior source close to the company.
Amazon declined to comment on AliExpress’s move to open its platform to local sellers. The US company is the largest online shopping marketplace in its five main European markets: Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, according to ecommerce analyst Marketplace Pulse.
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