Alibaba’s Tmall.com to help Fitbit sell more devices in China

Alibaba - Fitbit

Fitbit is teaming-up with Alibaba’s Tmall.com to get more customers in the world’s most populous country. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to “significantly expand” Fitbit’s reach in China.

As part of the deal, Fitbit will establish a major retail presence on Tmall.com online shopping site as one of the site’s key brand partners. Tmall will also help Fitbit become one of the first 10 global brands within Tmall’s electronics category to eventually achieve 10 million fans in Asia.

“Across China there is a growing interest in personal health, fitness and overall well-being, and we see very strong demand from our customers in these categories – specifically for Fitbit devices,” Hao Li, GM of 3Cs Business Unit of Alibaba, said in a statement. “We look forward to leveraging Fitbit’s leadership in the emerging field of connected health and fitness to connect our consumers with the budding national fitness craze.”

The day is set for May 18 when Tmall.com will host a Fitbit Super Brand Day, to promote Fitbit’s newest devices, Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Alta in China. This promotion will be Tmall.com’s first Super Brand Day for an activity tracker and will directly reach consumers via the Tmall.com portal and mobile app. During that day, Fitbit will be one of the most promoted products on Tmall.com, with strong traffic directed to Tmall.com’s Fitbit page.

Beyond the two latest Fitbit devices, users in China will also be able to purchase other fitness-focused devices, including Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip activity trackers, as well as the Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale.

“In partnering with Alibaba’s Tmall, we have the opportunity to reach millions of Chinese consumers,” Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer at Fitbit, said in a statement. “We’ve always seen great potential in China, and we’re looking forward to launching the fashionable Fitbit Blaze and Alta devices through Tmall.”

Fitbit recently announced it had shipped more than one million Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Alta devices.