Alibaba heads to Olympic Games podium
China’s largest online marketplace will become one of a dozen or so “top” Olympic partners, joining the likes of Coca-Cola and Samsung in the highest rung of sponsorship at a cost estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Chinese internet firm will provide online computing services and data analytics for the sporting contest, while creating a marketplace for official merchandise.
And it will help develop an online video channel for viewers in China, the world’s largest consumer market. Alibaba’s partnership with the Olympics adds pressure on the company to fight sales of counterfeit merchandise.
In December, the US Office of the Trade Representative added Alibaba to its “notorious marketplaces” list of companies that violate intellectual property rights.
As host to more than 12m businesses that sell more than 1bn items, policing such a vast digital world is difficult, Alibaba’s billionaire founder Jack Ma said in a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, when asked about seemingly counterfeit Olympic memorabilia on the site.
The company has roughly 2,000 people working on the problem and is adding new technology to better scrub its sites, Mr Ma said.
“It’s difficult to clean all the dirty things in one night,” he said.
Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, voiced support for Alibaba’s efforts.
Asked about his recent meeting with incoming US president Donald Trump in New York, Mr Ma reiterated his pledge to create a million jobs in the US.
“We had a very productive meeting,” Mr Ma said. “He’s very open-minded.”
Alibaba becomes one of the few Chinese sponsors, such as Lenovo, to pay for the right to sport the iconic five-ring logo.
The agreement also makes Alibaba the first Chinese company to sign on as a partner for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
It typically eschews costly marketing, but is keen to showcase its nascent cloud computing business on an international stage while reaching out to consumers around the world.
For the International Olympic Committee, its involvement spells greater Chinese engagement and, potentially, revenue.
Bloomberg
