140,000 brands to be part of Alibaba's shopping fest

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, an annual sales event held on November 11, will witness the participation of over 140,000 brands this year, the firm said.

"Over 140,000 brands will participate in this year's 11.11 festival, offering more than 15 million product listings," a statement said.

Held on China's Singles' Day, Alibaba's shopping festival is one of the largest shopping events in the world.

Started in 2009, the festival grossed about $18 billion during the 24-hour period last year.

"Over 60,000 international brands will be available this year to more than half a billion Chinese customers visiting Alibaba's platforms," the company said.

Over 100 Chinese brands would be brought overseas, targeting over 100 million overseas Chinese consumers in Asia and across the world, it added.

"This year's festival will showcase the possibilities for the future of retail by bringing together physical retail elements in social media, interactive content and entertainment in one ecosystem."

Nearly 3 million logistics personnel from Cainiao Network, Alibaba's logistics network, are expected to work to handle the millions of packages bought through the festival.

--IANS

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