Those who go to the first Aliexpress store in Madrid this Sunday will find an example of what Alibaba's ecommerce platform calls " new retail " or new commerce. It is its omnichannel store concept : online shopping union with the experience of shopping in a physical store. That of Madrid will be a replica of the online store of the Chinese giant but in a physical space, with the same business philosophy based on the commitment to technology, promotions and squeeze the customer's shopping experience.

This is the first establishment of the Asian group in Spain and also the first in Europe. It will be in the Xanadu shopping center, one of the busiest in the community. Madrid thus becomes "the gateway to Europe for Aliexpress, " said Ruben Bautista, director of operations for the platform in Spain, in the presentation to the media.

Our country has been chosen for the premiere is because Spain is the third market for Aliexpress , after Russia and the US. The Spanish client, unlike other Europeans, "is not afraid to try new brands" and that is why we are the main country in number of clients, according to William Wang, CEO for Europe and Spain.

The idea of ​​opening the store is also about "breaking a barrier" with these consumers, because there are still many who think of the platform "as something distant", with long delivery times. The store's motto is, in fact, "closer than ever."

A MILESTONE

The opening is, according to the management team of the Xanadu shopping center, a real milestone in the commerce sector, especially because it reverses the trend. If physical stores are increasingly betting on the online world, this is the first time an ecommerce platform opens a permanent store. Even Amazon, which has been betting on Spain as one of its main markets, has not yet opened a fixed establishment in our country.

With the new store the Chinese giant wants to "bring the brands that are on the web to the offline universe so that customers can touch them. The consumer still wants to be able to touch and see the products and ask the experts in the stores," said the Xanadu shopping center management team in the media presentation.

CAMPING FOR THE PREMIERE

The inauguration promises. It's on Sunday. At 12 the tape is cut. Mobiles, drones and scooters will be given to the "first hundreds of customers". Some in networks already ensure that they will camp at the doors. The prices that day will be lower because it coincides with the second great day of promotion of the platform (the first is the day of the single and the other, after the return of vacations).

"We firmly believe in the omnichannel business, in which experiential stores support the online business and vice versa," said Rubén Bautista, general director of operations of Aliexpress in Spain.

Alibaba had already opened two ephemeral stores in our country, so they don't really start from scratch, although they recognize that their experience in the physical world "is limited." "We have allied ourselves with the best and this store will be an experimentation platform where we can try everything we are doing in China with the new retail (new trade)," said Eduardo Pisa, also general director of operations.

"It was time to go one step further and open a store," says Bautista. They realized that they had to do it when they saw the success of the ephemeral store they opened in November, on the occasion of the promotions of the "Single Day", which is like Chinese Black Friday.

In the store, of more than 700 square meters , the most demanded products by the customers of Aliexpress Plaza are sold. It has five spaces : the first, at the entrance, with the best selling products. There will be an area where customers can fly drones , for example, or experiment with a magic mirror that scans the clients' bodies and allows them to visualize with the different clothing models.

FREE COFFEE EXPRESS

There will be free coffee for those who buy, events with influencers and brands can present their products in the space. "It is not off or on (line), but both," says Bautista.

In fact there will be a parallel online platform with the same offer, products and promotions. An exact replica of the Xanadu store. The managers of Aliexpress have not wanted to give the investment figures of the store although "there is nothing more to see" that are high.

Aliexpress Plaza sells products that are physically in Spain and that can be received in three days, with a Spanish customer service. In the store there will be a selection of the best selling products of Aliexpress Plaza. In total 1,000 references from more than 60 brands. Technology, small appliances and pet products. 60% are well-known Spanish or international brands (Huawei, Samsung, Apple ..) and 30% are Chinese brands with potential that the group wants to make known among potential Spanish clients.

This will probably not be the only store because the Chinese giant already exploits other options, both in the capital and in other Spanish cities, and does not rule out any options, including the possibility of opening a corner in the commercial centers of El Corte Inglés, with whom They have a collaboration agreement to sell their brands on their platform.

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