Alibaba Celebrates 7 Years of Retail Innovation in Italy – Slideshow

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Alibaba Celebrates 7 Years of Retail Innovation in Italy – Slideshow

  • Over 500 companies in Italy use Alibaba’s services, with collective turnover topping $5 billion, according to a Bocconi University study
  • Cross-border e-commerce platforms make the world’s largest consumer market just a click away for Italian brands

Mario Boselli (left), President of Italy China Council Foundation, and Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, General Manager of Alibaba Group in South Europe, hold up a sustainability-themed statuette. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group hosted more than 600 designers, executives and business people last week to celebrate seven years of supporting Italian businesses in the Chinese market.

General Manager of Southern Europe Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio welcomed representatives from over 500 Italian companies, who shared their experiences using e-commerce marketplaces like Tmall Global and Taobao to export and grow their businesses.

Diego Della Valle Christina Fontana Alibaba Customer First

Diego della Valle (left), Chairman and CEO of Tod’s Group, and Christina Fontana, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Southern Europe, Alibaba Group, share a moment. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Ana Candida Chiappetta Lapo Tanzj Daniela Auletta Alibaba Customer First

Ana Candida Chiappetta (left), Senior Channel Marketing & Client Success Manager Italy and Portugal at Alibaba Group, takes a selfie with Lapo Tanzj (center), Digital Advisor at Adiacent China, and Daniela Auletta, Marketing and Communication Manager at Vitalfarco Hair Cosmetics. Photo Credit: Alibaba Group

Manfredi Minutelli Valentino Valentini Alibaba Customer First

Manfredi Minutelli (left), Director International Government Affairs, Europe, Alibaba, and Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister of Made in Italy, smile for the cameras during Alibaba’s Customer First event in Milan. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Francesca Aceti Daniela Auletta Mauro Biasutti

From left to right: Francesca Aceti, Chemical Engineer and Chief Executive Officer at Deltha PharmaAna, Daniela Auletta, Marketing and Communication Manager at Vitalfarco Hair Cosmetics, and Mauro Biasutti, Export Manager at Moka Efti. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio Diego Della Valle Alibaba Customer First

Chairman and CEO of Tod’s Group Diego della Valle (right) addresses the audience at Alibaba’s Customer First event in Milan. Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, General Manager of Alibaba Group in South Europe, looks on. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Angelica Lin Liu Danqing Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe Pierpaolo Palmieri Alibaba Customer First

From left to right: Angelica Lin, Business Development Health & Wellness Brands at Alibaba Group, Liu Danqing, E-commerce Manager & APAC Area Manager at Coswell, Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe, Associate Professor of Practice of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SDA Bocconi School of Management, and Pierpaolo Palmieri, Commercial Director at Piquadro. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Mario Boselli Alessia Cappello

From left to right: Mario Boselli, President of Italy China Council Foundation, Alessia Cappello, Councillor for Economic Development of the Municipality of Milan, and Riccardo Monti, President of Triboo Group and Executive Vice President of the Italy China Council Foundation. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Andrew Zheng Alibaba Customer First

The Vice President of Alibaba.com, Andrew Zheng, gave a presentation on the power of Italy’s B2B exports. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe Alibaba Customer First

Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe (front), Associate Professor of Practice of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SDA Bocconi School of Management, presents to the audience with Stefano Riela, an academic fellow in Bocconi University’s Department of Social and Political Sciences. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio Paola Castellacci Lapo Tanzj Albert Antonini Maria Amelia Odetti Aleandro Mencherini Alibaba Customer First

From left to right: Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, General Manager of Alibaba Group in South Europe, Paola Castellacci, Executive Chairman at Adiacent, Lapo Tanzj, Digital Advisor at Adiacent China, Albert Antonini, Marketing Director of Alibaba Global Business Southern Europe, Maria Amelia Odetti, COO at Adiacent, and Aleandro Mencherini, Vice President at Adiacent. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Valentino Valentini Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio Alibaba Customer First

Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio (right), General Manager of Alibaba Group in South Europe, presents Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister of Made in Italy, with a gift. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Yann Fontaine Alibaba Customer First

Yann Fontaine, CEO of Miravia, graces the stage at Alibaba’s Customer First conference. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Alessia Cappello Alibaba Customer First

Alessia Cappello, Councillor for Economic Development of the Municipality of Milan, takes the stage. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Matthew Bassiur Alibaba Ipr Conference Milan

Matthew Bassiur, Vice President, Head of Global IP Enforcement, Alibaba Group, speaks during the IPR Conference at the Customer First Event. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Francesca Aceti Ana Candida Chiappetta Daniela Auletta Alibaba Customer First

From left to right: Francesca Aceti, Chemical Engineer and Chief Executive Officer at Deltha PharmaAna, Candida Chiappetta, Senior Channel Marketing & Client Success Manager Italy and Portugal at Alibaba Group, and Daniela Auletta, Marketing and Communication Manager at Vitalfarco Hair Cosmetics. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio Alibaba Customer First

Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio is the General Manager of Alibaba Group in South Europe. In 2015, he opened the platform’s office in Milan, where the Customer First event was held. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Pierpaolo Palmieri Alibaba Customer First

Pierpaolo Palmieri, Commercial Director at Piquadro, speaks on a Customer First panel. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

Attendees included Italy’s Deputy Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy MP Valentino Valentini and Diego della Valle, President of luxury leather brand Tod’s.

“The protection of intellectual property and brands in collaboration with the group’s platforms contributes to the development of Italian exports and the growing presence of Made In Italy in China,” Valentini tweeted after the event.

Italy is a member of the Belt and Road Initiative, a project by the Chinese government to expand cooperation and development across six economic corridors in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Business ties between Italy and China hold significant opportunities, data shows.

Turnover by the more than 500 Italian companies using Alibaba’s services crossed €5.4 billion ($5.9 billion) in 2022 despite pandemic-related trade snarls, according to a report by the Milanese university Bocconi School of Management.

Carlo Alberto Carnevale-Maffè and Stefano Riela, professors from the Bocconi Business School, presented the findings during the event.

What is behind Chinese consumers’ love of Italy-based brands? Read more stories from Italian companies now

Cross-Border E-CommerceEuropeItalyRetail Innovation
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