At GTM Global, we are excited to be using our resources and those of our extensive partner network to support UK companies during COVID and the coming months.
On Thursday 25th June, we heard directly from Alibaba Group about the growing opportunity for British brands in China, as consumer confidence and spending return there. Plus, we heard from a panel of experts from the China-Britain Business Council(CBBC), Department for International Trade and WorldFirst on how to succeed in this rapidly evolving market.
China is the world’s largest eCommerce market, accounting for 45% of global transactions according to McKinsey. With predictions that eCommerce will represent more than half of China’s retail spend by the end of this year (up from 35% at the start), there’s never been a better time for UK businesses to grab their share of this lucrative marketplace.
This was the second of a series of four webinars, in association with WorldFirst, to address how UK digital and tech scale-up companies can re-boot their global ambitions post-COVID.
Chaired by GTM Global’s Co-Founder Mark Stimpfig, watch this video to:
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If you have specific questions about growing or expanding your business online in China and would like to speak directly to any of the panellists, please contact us and we will make an introduction.
Panellist Biographies
Zarina Kanji
Business Development for UK & Nordics, Tmall Global at Alibaba Group
Zarina Kanji has been driving Tmall Business Development at Alibaba UK & Nordics since September 2018.
Zarina is responsible for helping brands to enter the Chinese market and build their business by connecting them to the 726 million annual active consumers on Alibaba’s platforms. She is based in London.
Prior to joining Alibaba, Zarina was Regional Head of Fashion & Sport Brand Partnerships at Lazada Group, Southeast Asia’s leading eCommerce company acquired by Alibaba Group in 2016.
She spent the first 10 years of her career as a Buyer for House of Fraser, Ralph Lauren and Jaeger.
Pearl Zhu
China Business Advisor, Retail & eCommerce, at the China-Britain Business Council
Pearl Zhu works for CBBC in London, specialising in the retail and eCommerce sector.
Before Joining CBBC, She worked for one of China’s leading media and entertainment investment companies for seven years. She headed the London office’s commercial business, developing strategy and partnership for brands in the fashion, beauty and mother and baby sectors.
She has built more than 40 partnerships and campaigns for entertainment and retail brands, including Tencent, Harrods, Aspinal of London, New Look, SuperNanny and Shanghai Fashion Week across China and the UK.
Jatin Bhurabhai
Commercial leader in Technology, Retail, Consumer and FinTech, at the Department for International Trade
E-Exporting Programme – developing the government’s digital export strategy for retail and other industries in e-commerce.
ASEAN, China, and India – facilitating e-commerce for British businesses across large parts of Asia.
Foreign Investment – facilitating foreign investment in e-commerce, retail and supporting industries.
Marketplace Partnerships – creating enhanced relationships with e-commerce marketplaces to promote UK interests.
Daniel Howe
Managing Director EMEA at WorldFirst
Daniel Howe has been with WorldFirst for coming up to a decade and now leads the business across the EMEA region.
Prior to this, he has helped numerous commercial management roles across the organisation with his teams helping UK SMEs to navigate the sometimes complex world of international payments.
WorldFirst are on a mission to build the world’s best financial services platform for international commerce and last year’s acquisition by Ant Group is helping them to accelerate that mission.
Daniel plays a key role in delivering this, setting a platform for EMEA based businesses to transact in an easier, faster, safer and cheaper manner.
About GTM Global
GTM Global connects UK scale-up brands in digital and tech to a designated panel of experts from government, trade bodies and commercial partners to provide on-going advice and guidance on go-to-market strategy and international expansion planning.
By participating in the programme you can expect a mix of the following:
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