VF Corp partners with Alibaba’s TMIC to obtain consumer analytics in China

VF Corporation, the company behind several fashion brands including Vans, Timberland and The North Face, has teamed up with Alibaba’s retail analytics hub, Tmall Innovation Center (TMIC), to expand its offerings of apparel, footwear and accessories in China.

TMIC will provide VF with data-driven consumer analytics from the 654 million annual active users of Alibaba’s online marketplaces, enabling the American company to identify new consumer trends and optimize its design, range and assortment to match the preferences of different profiles of Chinese consumers.

“With Tmall’s unparalleled customer insights, strong technical support and in-depth market knowledge, we are eager to work with the world’s leading companies to help them bring their best products into the China market in the most effective and efficient way”, said Liu Bo, General Manager of Alibaba’s Marketing Platform Business, in a statement.

Noting that China is “one of the most important markets for our business and brands”, VF’s Executive Vice President of Global Strategy and Growth Platforms, David Wagner, added: “we’re very excited to further unleash the power of consumer insights and analytics”.

VF Corporation and TMIC have been growing closer for quite a while. Earlier this year, TMIC collaborated with VF’s workwear brand Dickies to come up with a collection featuring elements of Chinese street culture, considering the growing demand for the category. Additionally, TMIC has worked with Vans to identify which products in their assortment were most favored by Chinese consumers so that the brand could increase the inventory for those products ahead of Alibaba’s Global Shopping Festival.

Established in 2017, TMIC has collaborated with over 100 companies and 800 brands, including Unilever, Samsung and Estée Lauder.

Picture: Vans Facebook