British Museum announces landmark partnership with Alibaba Group

The British Museum and Alibaba Group, the world’s largest retail commerce company in terms of gross merchandise volume, have today announced a landmark partnership.

Alifish, Alibaba’s online licensing platform has been named as the British Museum’s e-retailing and merchandise licensing partner in China. The partnership will see a range of British Museum licensed products made available to consumers in China in a British Museum-branded online store on Alibaba’s popular online marketplace Tmall.com. Additionally, Alifish will provide e-retailing and data mining support to British Museum so their licensed product mix can be perfectly tailored for the Chinese market. The deal, part of The British Museum’s licensing programme managed by TSBA Group, will also see a range of physical retail outlets launched by Alfilo Brands – a licensee partner of British Museum in China.

With a collection that tells the stories of cultures across the world, from the dawn of human history to the present, the British Museum attracts millions of visitors every year. It is particularly popular among Chinese visitors to London, many of whom visit the British Museum as part of their trip.

Craig Bendle, Manager of Merchandise Licensing, British Museum, says: “It is an exciting prospect for the British Museum to be working with a company of Alibaba’s stature as part of the Museum’s product licensing campaign. The British Museum is a museum of the world, for the world and this programme provides a unique opportunity to share the Museum through both online and physical store activities. We are very excited to be showcasing details from the British Museum’s collection exclusively in China on the Alifish licensing platform and to see the establishment of a range of British Museum stores across China, filled with attractive, quality products inspired by objects from the Museum’s collection.”