- UniCredit launches Easy Export to provide clients with a tailor-made offering including banking, logistics and online marketing services
- UniCredit collaborates with Alibaba.com to enhance international export opportunities for Italian businesses through various marketing initiatives
UniCredit and Alibaba.com, the B2B marketplace of Alibaba Group, today announce that they have entered into a collaboration to support Italian exporters. The parties will launch a series of marketing initiatives promoting Alibaba.com international website to Italian exporters. Meanwhile, UniCredit will launch a separate new product, Easy Export, which will be exclusively available for UniCredit's clients at the beginning of March.The combined offering is intended to support companies who already export, or would like to trade internationally. Thanks to the agreement, UniCredit's clients will have access to Alibaba.com, China's largest global online wholesale marketplace in 2016 by revenue [i], and potential to reach buyers in over 200 countries [1].
UniCredit Easy Export will help Italian companies enter international markets through a personalised and distinctive e-shop, provided in the client's preferred language. Thanks to its high quality partners, like Geodis for logistics and Var Group for digitalisation, UniCredit offer access to value adding services including creation of a dedicated e-shop, support in logistics management and assistance from a dedicated advisor. Clients will be able to choose the service package that best suits them, thanks to a flexible offer which allows them to build a tailor-made service based on the company's specific needs and ambitions.
"We are delighted to partner with Alibaba.com, one of the world's largest wholesale marketplaces. At UniCredit we are constantly committed to offering our clients real solutions supporting them in their business's internationalisation and growth. This new agreement will further boost the e-commerce sector in Italy, which is today worth 7.5 billion euro, accounts for 6 per cent of total exports and is increasing by 25 per cent each year", comments the General Manager of UniCredit Gianni Franco Papa. "Furthermore, with UniCredit Easy Export we offer our clients an integrated gateway that combines innovation and exclusivity, allowing us to further strengthen our position as a go-to banking partner for companies that want to go international".
UniCredit has developed a dedicated website which facilitates clients' use of the Alibaba.com platform, in addition to having access to the UniCredit banking products and services - including supporting the company's internationalisation (management of external flows, risk coverage financing and guarantees), and providing solutions for growth on international markets. The new website will be available at the beginning of March.
The agreement between UniCredit and Alibaba.com is a further reinforcement of the collaborations that started in the past months with the launch of the online store eMarco Polo on Tmall Global (a B2C marketplace of Alibaba Group) which offers high quality products manufactured by Italian SMEs to more than 500 million Chinese consumers. On the payment side, there was the agreement with Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group affiliate that allows many Italian points of sale to accept payments through the mobile app Alipay, thus facilitating purchases and transactions for the three million Chinese tourists that visit Italy each year.
"This further agreement with UniCredit sits nicely with our ecosystem and reinforces our mission to make it easy to do business anywhere, looking to increase business opportunities for Italian companies in China via Tmall Global, in Italy with Alipay, and exporting worldwide with Alibaba.com", comments Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, Managing Director Southern Europe of Alibaba Group and in charge of European flagship store openings on Tmall and Tmall Global. "Considering the potential offered by UniCredit, with its solid Italian roots but essentially European, I hope that these initiatives could be replicated in other European markets in the next future".
Milan, February 19, 2018
Enquiries
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Notes
[1] As of 31 March 2017
[i] According to iResearch.