Samsung to tap China's fashion market with the help of Alibaba

Samsung C&T Corporation inked a deal on Thursday with a goal to turn China's fashion market into its "second home market" via online channels.

Samsung C&T inked a Memorandum of Understanding with China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea to further their cooperation in the fashion industry.

According to the agreement, Samsung C&T, which has run a strong fashion division in South Korean for about 60 years, chose Alibaba as its top online partner to reach the huge consumer market in China.

Samsung C&T is expected to launch its fast-fashion brand 8 seconds on Alibaba's Tmall platform in 2016. The brand, which launched about two years ago, will open a flagship store on Tmall and choose Alibaba's Juhuasuan as its online marketing channel.

Yoon Ju Hwa, head of the fashion division of Samsung C&T, said Samsung has been leading South Korea's fashion industry for the past 60 years.

"In order to become a business that can thrive for more than 100 years, the company has made China its top priority for future growth. And e-commerce is what we see as a critical approach to achieve this growth," Yoon said.

Samsung C&T, which in late August completed its merger with Cheil Industries, serves as the new third pillar of Samsung group, with a focus on a various sectors, ranging from financial services, biotechnology to fashion and food services.

According to Alibaba, Samsung C&T has opened three flagship stores on Tmall for its clothing brands Beanpole, Rapido and Mvio.

Zhang Jianfeng, head of Alibaba's retail division, said the e-commerce giant has strong online platforms that can serve perfectly for overseas brands to tap the Chinese market.

"Our mobile Taobao has daily visitors of more than 100 million a day. Even those who target the niche market are able to see solid sales with the help of our online platforms," he said.