Sell on Tmall or JD
What is Tmall and Tmall Global?
According to Tmall official website, there are two ways to join Tmall:
- Companies with China in-country business operations can apply to Tmall
- Companies with overseas licenses are eligible for Tmall Global
Tmall Global provides an opportunity to serve the Chinese e-commerce ecosystem for international companies with no physical business in mainland China. At the very beginning, you can open a Tmall Global store for market testing. After two years testing and learning from Tmall Global, Tmall is the next destination for new international brands to enter with, as Tmall caters more mainstream consumers needs.
Which countries do Chinese consumers prefer to buy?
Different countries feature different most welcomed selling products:



Below are some examples of brands entering in the Chinese market via Tmall Global and Tmall:
Tmall Global
- Brand A is eager to expand into the China market but reluctant to take on local inventory risk. Tmall Global allows brand A to enter the China market while removing this risk.
- Brand B has noticed a recent increase in overseas purchase demand for their product. Tmall Global offers brand B the opportunity to reach these consumers who are interested in imported high quality products.
- Brand C had previously thought selling finished food products directly to the China market is impossible. Tmall Global enables brand C to bring their locally famous product to Chinese shoppers.
Tmall
- Brand D has been selling offline in China for 5 years and has already built up the target market. Brand D will soon open a Tmall.com store to introduce their product to a broader audience from online.
- Brand E has been manufacturing products in China for foreign markets and would now like to try selling their branded toys to the Chinese domestic market. Brand E would open a Tmall store and utilize their local inventory for fulfillment.
- Brand F is looking to break into China’s market. They have a multipronged approach to open physical stores in mainland China and reach consumers online. With their China branch office in place, brand F is well-positioned to increase its online presence with Tmall.com
What is a brand flagship store?
If you are an international merchant without a Chinese legal entity, you can open up a Tmall Global Flagship Store to sell directly to the Chinese consumers.
The official definition of Tmall Global Brand Flagship store is: Stores opened by brand owners or exclusive dealers directly authorized by trademark holders on Tmall Global. In principle, the brand flagship store can only sell goods under the corresponding brand. If the store brand is a group brand, it can sell goods under multiple brands of the group. The goods must directly come from the store brand trademark holder.
Steps to launch a flagship store on Tmall
- Submit the qualification of store opening enterprises
- Step-by-step process
- Joining application
- Application review
- Store information supplement
- Going live



Payment Solution
Tmall Flagship Store Fee structure
- Deposit fee
- Annual fee
- Platform commission
- Alipay service fee
Logistics & Warehouse Solutions for a Flagship Store
There are two mostly used logistics models: bonded warehouses and direct shipping.
Bonded Warehouses Model
The goods are export in bulk to a bounded warehouse in China and been stored in bounded warehouses till there is an order, then goods are transported to customers.
The delivery is fast and takes lower shipping costs. However, the initial setup cost and the risk of low inventory turnover ratio are inevitable.



Direct Shipping Model



Shop Operation
eTOC Provides You the One-Stop Services of Opening Online Store in China
eTOC is a great fan of the “test and approve” approach. For brands who want to first test the Chinese market and get real market feedback, we also provide you with a “China Market Speed Test” service which enables international brands and retailers to first test its product potential with a very limited budget and gather market real data for the next “go big” solution – opening up Tmall brand flagship store.
If you want to open a Tmall or JD brand flagship store, you can contact us for a first free consultation.



Free Download
eTOC white paper “China Market Entry via E-Commerce” for free download:
- Cross Border E-Commerce (CBEC)
- Traditional Import vs. Cross Border E-Commerce
- Top 5 Domestic E-Commerce Platforms
- Top 5 CBEC Platforms in China
- Test Your Product Potential in China
- Sell on No.1 Marketplace Tmall
- How to Open a Brand Flagship Store on Tmall Global
- Sell to China via WeChat
- Your Partner Structure for a Successful China E-Commerce Business
- Logistics & Warehouse Solutions